Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 6 - Chapter 8

8. Cross the Boundary

I know, Haruhiro thought. I ought to make a more powerful speech, one filled with energy.

Haruhiro would have loved to do that, of course, but nothing came to mind, so there wasn’t much he could do about it. Besides, this time, there was no need.

“O, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o, o...!”

“What are you doing?!” Haruhiro grabbed Ranta, who was just standing there, by the arm and took off running. As he ran, he shouted, “Get out of the way for now! Don’t stand straight in front of the dogs, get out of the way!”

Even without Haruhiro’s encouragement, Kuzaku, Yume, Shihoru and Merry all ran away. It wasn’t just Haruhiro and his party, either. The volunteer soldiers took off to the left, right, and backwards, scattering in all directions.

Ducky had said not to turn their backs, but that wasn’t an option. There were white giants that were over four meters tall charging straight at them. If they got hit properly by that, they’d be run over for sure. Either trampled or knocked flying. If they tried to take them head-on, like Ranta had been about to, that would actually be worse. While they were trying to work themselves up, the white giants would close in, and while they were still going, Oh, crap, oh, crap, what do I do? and panicking, they’d get trampled to death.

But even if they ran—

“Ha-Ha-Haruhiroooo!” Ranta hollered. “I-I-Incomiiiing! One of them’s coming this way!”

“Yeah, I already know!”

One of the white giants was chasing after Haruhiro and Ranta. Haruhiro let go of Ranta’s arm and pumped his legs harder. But up ahead there was yet another white giant. Where were the others? He didn’t have time to look.

One white giant behind me. Another in front. Do I go right? Or left?

No good. Can’t go right or left. That’s just my intuition, though—no, don’t doubt it.

“Charge in and slip past it!” he called.

“Huh?! Seriously?!” Ranta hollered.

“Seriously!” Haruhiro charged towards the white giant in front of him.

Hands. The hands will come first. Both hands. Trying to grab me. They’re not that fast—They shouldn’t be, right? Head for the right side. Slip past the white giant’s left hand on the outside. Go. I’ve gotta go. Go. I can do it. Dodge!

“—Yuh...!”

Turning his body sideways, he narrowly avoided the white giant’s left hand. But what the hell was “Yuh” supposed to be? Haruhiro didn’t know that himself.

“Ranta?!” he screamed.

“Yeah!”

Ranta had gotten by the white giant’s right hand somehow, and seemed to have succeeded in getting behind it. It wasn’t something they’d set up intentionally, but they heard the two white giants slam into one another behind them.

“Ha! Serves you right!” Ranta howled.

Haruhiro couldn’t be as jubilant about it as the cheering Ranta. If anything, Haruhiro wanted to take his frustrations out on him.

“Aw, damn it! Them, too?!” Haruhiro cried.

Of course, the ones he had seen at the beginning weren’t all of them. There were still more of the white giants coming. It wasn’t just giants, either. Something else was mixed in with the white giants—or rather, it might have been more accurate to say the white giants were mixed in with them. There were clearly more of them, after all.

No, if he didn’t say there were far more of them, it would be a straight-up lie. My, my, were these not the one-eyed, white poncho-wearing cultists, rushing towards them en masse?

Haruhiro wanted to regroup with his comrades. But first, he wanted to check if they were okay. He checked, and—

How? he wanted to scream.

“Don’t get separated, Ranta!”

“Hey, heyyyyyyyy?!” Ranta yelled back. “This is ridiculous, you know?!”

He wasn’t even listening. Ranta’s attention was entirely focused on the cultists. Well, maybe it was hard to blame him for that. After all, the ordinary cultists are rushing us with their spears down.

What do we do? Haruhiro thought frantically.

There was no time to think. Time was very, very limited. If they stopped, it would all be over. They had to press forward. Which way? Where would they go?

He heard voices. People’s voices. Sounds. Presences. Breathing. His own breath.

In front of them, there were ten ordinary cultists, Pansukes, or somewhere around that number. There were also two elite cultists, Tori-sans, wielding Thunder Sword Dolphins and Mirror Shields, maybe three? There were more cultists than just that, but these were the only ones Haruhiro had to immediately concern himself with. Also, a white giant, one of the four-meter class.

Behind them were the rest of the white giants. The two that had collided earlier were getting back up. There were a number of giants that had stopped—been forced to stop? Were they in combat? Were there volunteer soldiers fighting with the white giants?

Yes. There were. Over there.

“Come along, Ranta!” Haruhiro shouted.

“Nwahh?!”

Even as he ran, Haruhiro never stopped looking. Ranta was keeping up.

Those are the Berserkers, huh, he thought. Unbelievable. Even in this situation, they already have one of the white giants down. No, not just one. Two, huh.

Ducky and the Berserkers were going to work on their third white giant. They were using tools to do it. Ropes. With weights on the ends, probably.

They threw those, wrapping them around the giant’s neck. Then, they pulled on them as a group. Bringing it to the ground. It was easy to describe, but it would be difficult to throw the ropes and have them go the way you wanted. It took a lot of strength to pull one down. Their timing had to be in sync, too.

Despite their clan name, which would make you expect the Berserkers to charge in with no fear of any counterattacks, they actually fought with finesse and technique.

Next to the Berserkers with their three parties, seventeen people, moving practically as one group, he spotted Yume. Either she was watching the Berserkers in awe, or she was staring off into space, because she was just standing there.

Even as he ran towards Yume, Haruhiro kept looking. It wasn’t only the Berserkers who were fighting back. There were volunteer soldiers swarming an eight-meter class white giant a little farther away. There was a fearless and reckless one who scaled the giant, climbing onto its shoulders and striking it in the face.

Max. That was “One-on-One” Max.

Max was short, but he carried a thick sword in each hand, and slashed, or rather slugged, the white giant with them. He showered a flurry of blows on it.

Iron Knuckle were clobbering the eight-meter class.

He saw the white capes of Orion, too. They had spread out into individual parties. It didn’t look like they were actively pressing the attack. But they weren’t fleeing in confusion, either.

The Tokkis.

Tokimune stood right in front of a white giant, with Tada attacking it from the side. Kikkawa and Mimorin were there, too. Inui. And Anna-san.

That’s Merry next to Anna-san, huh, Haruhiro thought. Kuzaku’s there, too.

Deal with Yume first.

“That girl!” Ranta screamed. It looked like Ranta had spotted Yume. “Hey, Yume! Don’t just stand there!”

Yume turned in their direction. “...Wha?”

“Come here!” Haruhiro called her over.

She gave a big nod and took off towards them at a run. The cultists would arrive soon, and this area would probably descend into utter chaos.

“Merry! Kuzaku!” Haruhiro shouted.

He turned back and looked as he ran towards the Tokkis. The cultists had arrived. Kuzaku and Merry noticed Haruhiro and the others.

“Where’s Shihoru?!” he shouted.

“I’m sorry!” Merry frowned as she shook her head.

“We don’t have time!” Ranta hollered.

“She’s our top priority!” Haruhiro shouted back.

While thinking about it, he looked. He surveyed the area as he made his judgment call. As he looked around, Haruhiro came up with his basic strategy.

Well, we’ll be parasites, so to speak. I feel bad about it, but we’re going to act like parasites on the stronger fighters while we search for Shihoru. I’m strangely calm, huh? Maybe I just don’t have room to panic?

“Shihoru’s missing!” he called. “Anna-san, be careful!”

Once he had called out to them, Haruhiro changed course and headed in the direction of Iron Knuckle. His comrades were behind him. Ranta, Yume, and Merry, with Kuzaku bringing up the rear.

Shihoru, he thought. Where is she? Shihoru. Where are you?

For a moment, he feared the worst. He quickly dismissed the idea. The cultists had joined the battle between the volunteer soldiers and the white giants. That was going to make it all the harder to figure anything out.

Even if I can’t figure it out, I’ll look. I’ll look. Look. Look for her. Search. For Shihoru.

“Why, you...! I’m going, too!” Ranta went to attack a nearby Pansuke.

“That’s no good!” Haruhiro stopped Ranta, but didn’t stop moving himself.

“I can handle this one myself!” Max shouted as he clung to the eight-meter class’s face, driving his sword into its eye. “Massacre the cultists, my bros!”

He can handle it himself? What is he talking about? But the guys in Iron Knuckle are doing what he says. Seriously?

All of the members of Iron Knuckle except for Max moved away from the eight-meter class white giant and attacked the cultists.

There was one man who stood out. He was lightly equipped, with no helmet, and had a short goatee. It was Max’s right-hand man, Aidan. He wielded a spear, uncommon for a volunteer soldier. He was knocking down a cultist with the shaft, then impaling them through their one eye with the tip. On top of that, he used a variety of kicks to mow down the cultists. He was less a warrior and more a martial artist. His lack of armor might have been a sign of his confidence. It didn’t seem to be misplaced. Even a Tori-san, with his sword and shield at the ready, went down to a surprise jump-kick and a stab from Aidan’s spear. He was incredible.

The other bros went around crushing cultists. Iron Knuckle had destroyed two cult bases. They knew their opponents. It seemed like they thought mere cultists couldn’t possibly take them down. They didn’t look like they were going to lose.

Haruhiro acted like a total parasite. He joined in with Iron Knuckle, looking around, while being careful not to get in their way. He searched for Shihoru.

“Shihoruuuu!” Yume wailed.

The cultists and white giants kept pouring in. Were they gathering from all over the Dusk Realm?

Wasn’t staying here and fighting a mistake? They were managing for now, but eventually the volunteer soldiers would run out of steam. When that happened, it would be checkmate. The end.

But the giant god was at the initial hill. Could they get past the giant god and flee back to the Ri-komo—no, the Gremlin Flats?

Shihoru. Before that, he had to think about Shihoru.

Shihoru.

“She can’t not be here!” Merry shouted.

That was right. She was here. She had to be. She was somewhere. He just couldn’t see her.

He couldn’t see her.

She’s somewhere I can’t see her...?

“The valley!” Haruhiro shouted.

He could be wrong, but it was possible.

The volunteer soldier settlement in the Dusk Realm had been built around a valley with a spring at the bottom. It wasn’t a deep valley, but it wasn’t shallow, either. At least, he couldn’t see the bottom from here. Not at all. If she had been separated from her comrades, fled, and tried to hide somewhere, wouldn’t that be the place she’d choose?

The bottom of the valley was a dead end. It wasn’t guaranteed to be safe. If the enemy found her, she’d be in immediate danger. But if she were pressed to make a decision, she wouldn’t think that through.

While heading for the valley, Haruhiro continued to look. Glancing this way and that, he got as good of a grasp of his allies’ situation as he could manage. It felt like his duty at this point. It was scary to look and learn what was going on. Ignorance was easier on his mind, but it was scary in its own way, too.

Would he die with his eyes closed, or with them open? Either way, it was scary. However, if his eyes were open, he might find some way to avert his impending demise. If his eyes were closed, he couldn’t even resist in vain.

At the rear of the group, Kuzaku was attacked by a cultist. It was a Pansuke. Just one.

Haruhiro immediately did an about-face. “Kuzaku, stop there!”

“’Kay!”

Kuzaku parried the Pansuke’s spear with his shield, then used Thrust. With Kuzaku’s longsword stabbing his chest, but not through it thanks to his poncho, the Pansuke faltered. By that point, Haruhiro had already raced past his side.

With a sudden stop, he got behind the Pansuke. He grappled him, jamming his dagger into the Pansuke’s one eye with a backhanded grip. He tore it free, and headed for the valley.

“You ass!” Ranta screamed.

Ranta, just shut up.

“Let me handle that stuff!”

“Next time!” Haruhiro called.

If you’d handle it quickly and well, I wish you would. Well, whatever. We’re here. This is the valley.

“There she is!” he shouted. “Shihoru!”

Shihoru was cowering by the edge of the spring. She raised her face and looked towards Haruhiro.

“I-I’m sorry! I... I couldn’t find any of you, and I was scared!”

“Well, who can blame you!” Ranta cackled. “I’ll let it slide this time, so let me squeeze those tits of yours!”

“Wow...” Kuzaku was appalled.

“You’re the worst. You couldn’t sink any lower,” said Merry, and Haruhiro had to agree.

“You moron!” Ranta laughed loudly. “I can always sink lower! It’s being the lowest of the low that makes me the worst! Morons!”

This is the problem with him.

“Shihoru!” Yume rushed down the slope, as if she were rolling.

Haruhiro was about to follow, but then he turned and looked. It was a good thing he did, too. “Yume! Bring Shihoru up here!”

“Meowger!”

Was that supposed to be a “roger”? Anyway, I’m counting on you. We’ve got things of our own to deal with. Enemies. Cultists incoming. Five Pansukes. One Tori-san. That’s a lot. But if they caught up to us while we were down in the valley, we’d be at a disadvantage because they’d have the high ground. We’ll fight them here.

Until Yume and Shihoru made it to them, they had four people: Haruhiro, Ranta, Kuzaku, and Merry.

“Kuzaku, do what you can!” Haruhiro ordered.

“Roger that! I’ll draw them to me!”

“Ranta, use quick attacks!”

“You don’t have to tell me!”

“Merry, don’t push yourself too hard!”

“I’m fine!”

“Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” With an uncharacteristic roar, Kuzaku charged towards the cultists. The Pansukes thrust out their spears in an attempt to meet his charge.

Kuzaku used his shield to block—no, to sweep their spears away. It wasn’t Block that he used. It was Bash. On top of that, he made grand swings with his longsword and shield.

“Ngahhhh! Rahhhhhhhh! Yahhhhhhhh!”

Kuzaku’s longsword and his shield were both only knocking aside the Pansukes’ spears or landing grazing blows on their ponchos. He wasn’t doing any damage. But the Pansukes couldn’t move forward. Kuzaku was keeping a whole five Pansukes at bay. Obviously, he couldn’t keep that up. Besides, there was that guy, too. Pushing aside the Pansukes, the Tori-san moved up. Tori-san pushed Kuzaku’s longsword back with his Mirror Shield, then immediately slashed at him with his Thunder Sword Dolphin.

“Leap Out!” a voice yelled.

That was Ranta. He leapt in from the side at an incredible speed, landing a kick on Tori-san’s Mirror Shield. Even as Tori-san was thrown off-balance, he turned his Thunder Sword Dolphin towards Ranta. Ranta was trying to attack him, but it’d be bad if he took a hit from that weapon. Even a scratch would leave him stunned. Ranta drew back Betrayer Mk. II. His form flickered ominously.

“Missing!”

The Tori-san’s strike seemed to have been dulled. He had been fascinated by Ranta’s mysterious movements. Ranta easily avoided the Thunder Sword Dolphin and put some distance between the two of them.

“Ha! Damn, I’m cool!” Ranta laughed.

“Not really!” Haruhiro called back.

Haruhiro came out on the right side of the group of enemies, aiming for the Pansukes’ spears with his dagger and sap. Merry also took up a position behind Kuzaku diagonally and was using her short staff to interfere with their spears.

“Dahhhh! Tahhhhhh! Nwahhhhhh!” Kuzaku swung his shield and longsword with reckless abandon as he pressed forward. The Pansukes began to fall back, but Tori-san came and struck Kuzaku’s longsword with his Thunder Sword Dolphin.

“Ngh!” Kuzaku’s entire body shuddered. The Tori-san went in for a follow-up. Kuzaku may have had the best armor in the party, and he might have been wearing a helmet, too, but even he wasn’t going to be completely unscathed if he took a good hard thrust from a Thunder Sword Dolphin. Here in the Dusk Realm where light magic didn’t work, heavy wounds could be life-threatening.

“Hah!” Merry yelled.

If Merry hadn’t swung her short staff down diagonally, hitting the Thunder Sword Dolphin with a Knock Off, things could have gotten pretty bad.

Merry cried out, “Augh!” and fell on her backside, twitching, but the Tori-san nearly dropped his Thunder Sword Dolphin, too. In the end, he didn’t actually drop it, but Kuzaku was able to use that time to recover.

“Close call!” Kuzaku swept the Pansukes’ spears with his longsword and shield. “I’ve still got a long way to go!”

“You’re doing great!” Haruhiro encouraged.

Haruhiro tried to get around behind the Pansukes. Come at me. Good. It worked.

Haruhiro managed to peel a number of the Pansukes away from Kuzaku. “Ranta, show us your guts!”

“Don’t make it—” Ranta charged again, closing in on one of the Pansukes. “—sound so easy, damn it! Reject!”

The Pansuke put out his spear. Ranta pushed it aside with Betrayer Mk. II and backed away. The Pansuke fell for it and tried to pursue Ranta.

“Avoid!” Ranta screamed.

When his opponent tried to move up, Ranta made a thrust towards a vital point while retreating. Ranta’s skill landed perfectly. Betrayer Mk. II bit into that Pansuke’s one eye and he collapsed to the ground.

“I’ll do it easily enough, though!” Ranta hollered. “I mean, this is me, after all!”

“There you go, getting cocky!” Haruhiro called back.

Haruhiro Swatted two Pansukes’ spears, Swatted them, and Swatted them again. Ranta had taken down one Pansuke and was looking to take on another one, so Kuzaku only needed to deal with one Pansuke and the Tori-san. But the Tori-san was the problem.

“Nuh!” Kuzaku used Bash to knock away the Pansuke’s spear, then quickly tried to quickly close the gap between them, but the Tori-san swung his Thunder Sword Dolphin. That forced Kuzaku to jump backwards.

“I’ll take one of them!” Merry called.

Having recovered from the numbing effect of Thunder Sword Dolphin, Merry was trying to get the Pansuke to turn and face her. However, even in a one-on-one fight, the Tori-san was going to be tough. His Thunder Sword Dolphin was way too dangerous. All Kuzaku could do was keep track of the distance between them and run around.

“Dammit! This is pathetic!” Kuzaku yelled.

“Don’t rush it!” Haruhiro shouted while using Swat on the spears that kept coming at him. He said it to Kuzaku, but he was also saying it half to himself.

Yeah. I can’t rush this. Look. Take a good look. Are there enemy reinforcements? Not now. It wouldn’t be strange to see them come in at any moment, though. When that happens, I can’t just start panicking like, “Oh, crap, oh, crap, we’re so screwed!”

Kuzaku wholly focused on evading the Thunder Sword Dolphin. Merry was playing it safe and focusing on defense, while Ranta couldn’t land the deciding blow. Was he watching and waiting for his chance to do it in one blow? Haruhiro did nothing but Swat. They weren’t doing anything more than hanging in there, and they might eventually fall apart if they had to keep it up, but it wouldn’t be much longer.

See?

In flew an arrow. This one was going to hit. The Tori-san would take it right in the face. No, the Tori-san jumped aside to avoid it.

Haruhiro glanced behind him. Yume. She’d come up out of the valley. She was already nocking her second arrow. She fired. Then, at practically the same time...

“Ohm, rel, ect, nemun, darsh!”

Right behind Yume, Shihoru was chanting and drawing elemental sigils with her staff.

Yume’s second shot also missed. The Tori-san dodged it. However, when he got out of the way of the arrow, a shadow elemental affixed itself to the ground where he was about to step.

Shadow Bond.

The Tori-san’s foot was caught by the shadow elemental, and he couldn’t move away from it. The Tori-san was clearly flustered. That was when Kuzaku went in to finish him.

“Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Punishment. It was fundamentally the same as Moguzo’s specialty, the warrior skill Rage Blow, AKA Thanks Slash. He swung down diagonally with all his might. However, in this paladin version, he would defend himself with his shield as he did it. Normally, at least.

Kuzaku swung so hard it looked like he might fling his shield away, though he didn’t actually do so, and slammed his longsword into the Tori-san’s Thunder Sword Dolphin with all his might. Of course, when he touched the weapon, it shocked him.

“Ah!”

Kuzaku’s body shuddered, and he ended up sitting down. He must have known that would happen. Even so, he’d taken the risk.

Kuzaku’s plan had been to knock the weapon out of the Tori-san’s hands. It’d worked.

The Tori-san crouched down and tried to reach for his fallen weapon. It was just barely out of reach. That was thanks to Shadow Bond.

Even so, the Tori-san tried stretching himself farther to grab his Thunder Sword Dolphin. It might have worked if no one had intervened. If Merry hadn’t hit the sword’s hilt with her short staff and knocked it far away.

“You’re the best!” Kuzaku rose to his feet, then lifted his longsword over his head. The Tori-san tried to cover his head with his Mirror Shield. However, Kuzaku didn’t swing down. It was Feint.

“Rahhhh!”

Kuzaku kicked the Mirror Shield away, then smashed his longsword into the Tori-san’s now-defenseless head. Not just once. Two, three, four times, he slammed the top of his head. Even if he couldn’t cut him because of the poncho, that was more of a beating than he could take. Even once the Tori-san collapsed and was lying prone, Kuzaku attacked him two, three more times, making sure he was good and dead.

“Exhaust! Exhaust! Exhaaaauuuust! Gwahahahahahahahaaa!” Meanwhile, Ranta zoomed around with his creepy backwards movements to quickly collect the Thunder Sword Dolphin. With Betrayer Mk. II in his left hand, and Thunder Sword Dolphin in his right, he dual-wielded—

Wait, considering Ranta’s lack of strength, that Thunder Sword Dolphin is pretty long and heavy. Is that going to be okay...?

“There! Ha! Take that!”

Like Haruhiro had expected, no matter how hard Ranta tried to swing both Thunder Sword Dolphin and Betrayer Mk. II around, he wasn’t hitting anything. The Pansukes easily avoided them. He was a moron. A complete and utter moron.

“Choose one or the other!” Haruhiro screamed at him.

Haruhiro was still busy using Swat on the two spears. He wanted to tell Ranta he didn’t have time to fool around like that.

I mean, I have to look around while doing it. This is pretty hard. I’m just barely managing it. Finish yours up and come help already, man. Well, it’s fine, really.

“Yah!”

Someone came, at least.

It was Yume. Yume charged in fiercely. With a somersault, she let off a powerful blow with her machete. One of the two Pansukes that were attacking Haruhiro took it in the shoulder, and while he didn’t go down, his head shot back in pain.

Raging Tiger. It was a machete fighting skill.

“Tau! Tau! Tauuuu!” With that strange series of battle cries, Yume put together a combo of Brush Clearer, Diagonal Cross, Brush Clearer and cornered the Pansuke.

She’s as gutsy as ever. That’s the kind of bravery you’d expect from a tank. No, given her light armor, she’s braver than a tank. It’s scary to watch. I’ve gotta support her.

The next time he Swatted a spear, Haruhiro simultaneously kicked that Pansuke in the knee. Shatter stopped his opponent from moving for a moment, which Haruhiro then used to get in close and clobber him in the chin with his sap.

The Hitter skill had been originally meant for striking the enemy’s chin with your palm after performing a Swat, but Haruhiro had learned to apply it like this. Haruhiro had been on the defensive all this time, so that probably made it hard for the Pansuke to adapt to the sudden surprise attack. Naturally, that had been part of Haruhiro’s calculations, which was why he went fully on the counterattack.

Once he cleanly landed a Swat, Shatter, and Hitter, it wasn’t hard to sweep his opponent’s leg and trip him. That was what Haruhiro did. Haruhiro mounted the fallen Pansuke, stabbing his dagger into the cultist’s one eye. When he twisted and gouged, the Pansuke soon stopped moving.

“Haruhiro-kun!” Shihoru shouted to warn him.

When he looked, another four Pansukes and a Tori-san were coming their way. Haruhiro let out a deep sigh, then tore his dagger free and stood up.

Currently, Ranta and Yume were each handling a Pansuke. Kuzaku and Merry were double-teaming another. There were a total of five enemy reinforcements, and one of them was a Tori-san on top of that. The only ones free to act were Haruhiro and Shihoru. Shihoru couldn’t fight in a melee, and the best Haruhiro could hope to manage was fending off a couple of Pansukes’ attacks with Swat.

“Ohm, rel, ect, el, krom, darsh!”

But this was one thing Shihoru had. A black mist-like elemental blew towards the oncoming cultist reinforcements. Shadow Mist. It was the upgraded version of Sleepy Shadow, which caused intense sleepiness in the target.

Normally, whether it was Sleepy Shadow or Shadow Mist she was using, it wouldn’t work when sent straight at an oncoming opponent like that. It was a spell that only worked if you caught them off guard. However, Shihoru happened to have learned that Darsh Magic was especially effective against the cultists.

When the shadow elemental enveloped them, the cultists started dropping like flies. She managed to put all of the Pansukes to sleep, but the Tori-san only staggered a little. He’d resisted it, huh.

The Tori-san kicked the Pansuke who had collapsed at his feet. It looked like he was trying to rouse him.

“Ohm, rel, ect, el, vel, darsh!” Shihoru immediately set off a Shadow Echo. Vwong, vwong, vwong. With that distinctive sound, three shadow elementals that looked like balls of black seaweed flew towards the Tori-san. However, even if they hit, he probably wouldn’t go down.

Haruhiro shouted as he ran, “Kuzaku!”

“’Kay!”

Kuzaku left the Pansuke to Merry and chased after Haruhiro. Two of the three shadow elementals hit the Tori-san and seemed to do some damage, but it was far from being fatal. On top of that, the Pansuke that the Tori-san had kicked got up.

If more new enemies come now, we’re absolutely finished. That was the thought that crossed Haruhiro’s mind. Well, not that he had time to be worrying about it. Focus. I have to focus. Focus, focus, focus.

Haruhiro repeated that to himself as he charged towards the Pansuke and the Tori-san. The reason he wasn’t that scared was because he didn’t plan to fight. Fighting them properly was just beyond him.

First, the Pansuke thrust out his spear. Haruhiro leapt aside to the left, and this time it was the Tori-san that followed up with another attack.

I’m still out of range, so I’m safe, he thought. Even if the Tori-san slashed at him with his Thunder Sword Dolphin, it wouldn’t reach Haruhiro. Probably.

“Bring it, bring it, bring it!” Haruhiro shouted, not so much to provoke his enemy as to encourage himself, as he dodged the Tori-san’s Thunder Sword Dolphin and the Pansuke’s spear.

Soon Kuzaku arrived and used Bash on the Pansuke’s spear. When he did, Haruhiro had predicted that the Tori-san would lunge at Kuzaku. Or rather, he had hoped that would happen, but it didn’t go that way. While Kuzaku was attacking the Pansuke with Thrust, the Tori-san started to kick the other Pansukes.

Not good, thought Haruhiro.

At this rate, the remaining three would all wake up. But if he was going to stop it, he would have to attack the Tori-san. If he tried to take the Tori-san in a straight-up fight, Haruhiro’s life would be on the line. Was this the time to gamble like that?

The moment he paused to think about it, he had missed his chance to make that choice. It was already too late. The Pansukes were awake and starting to get up. Because there was already a chaotic mix of allies and enemies nearby, they couldn’t count on Shihoru’s magic.

“Zeahhhhhhh!” Kuzaku forcefully pushed the Pansuke down, but he wasn’t able to get in the killing blow. That was because the Tori-san intervened. Kuzaku had no choice but to run from his Thunder Sword Dolphin.

Where’s Ranta? Yume? Merry? Haruhiro tried to look. I can’t look.

The Pansukes that the Tori-san had beaten into awareness swarmed towards him. Haruhiro’s pulse raced and his breathing became strained. The pressure was intense. He felt like he was going to panic. Though, if he could still realize that, maybe it wasn’t so bad. His field of view had grown so narrow.

The spears. They’re coming. Swat. Swat. Swat. No, I can’t. I feel like I’m gonna mess it up. I can’t afford the injury. Ahh—

Uwah...

Haruhiro leapt back without attempting a Swat. He couldn’t Swat in this state of mind. He’d fail for sure.

A white giant. Not one of the four-meter class. Bigger than that. There’s a six-meter class one approaching. What are we gonna do about that?

The spears came at him. One after another. Could he dodge? He’d have to. But he couldn’t quite manage it.

Haruhiro instinctively threw himself to the ground and rolled.

“Whaaaat’re you doing?!” Ranta flew in. He swept two spears away at the same time with his Thunder Sword Dolphin. Naturally, the two Pansukes holding them collapsed, twitching. Ranta had sheathed Betrayer Mk. II and was wielding Thunder Sword Dolphin with two hands.

“I told you to do it like that from the beginning!” Haruhiro screamed.

Haruhiro used Swat on the other Pansuke’s spear, then followed up with Shatter and Slap. His dagger and sap were both weapons with a short reach, so it was pretty hard to strike his opponent’s hands with them.

Slap wasn’t a skill he used often, but it went well. The Pansukes held their spears with both hands. When Haruhiro hit one of the Pansuke’s right hands with his sap, the Pansuke let go of his spear with that hand. Without missing a beat, Haruhiro used the pommel of his dagger to strike his jaw with Hitter. When the Pansuke’s legs gave out and he collapsed, Haruhiro speedily circled around behind him, then grappled him and used Spider. His dagger sank into the Pansuke’s single eye.

“Shut up! Worthless Parupirori!” Ranta went to finish off the Pansukes he had stunned, exaggeratedly raising his Lightning Sword Dolphin over his head. That was when his hands stopped. “Wait, there’s a white giant comiiiiiiiing?!”

“Ranta!” Haruhiro shouted.

“Wha...?!” Ranta used Exhaust to fly backwards with a burst of speed. The Pansukes he had stunned had thrust out their spears.

Kuzaku was running around and avoiding the Tori-san and a Pansuke. Merry and Yume were each handling one Pansuke each, and they were unable to move.

Shihoru had noticed the incoming white giant, and seemed to be thinking about what she could do with her magic. Sadly, however, there probably wasn’t anything. When it came to a white giant in the six-meter class, stopping its movement with Shihoru’s magic was practically impossible.

The Pansukes that had failed to skewer Ranta to death now changed their target to Haruhiro. While using Swat on their spears, Haruhiro was appalled at himself for trying to escape from reality by focusing intently on just using Swat. But he couldn’t think of anything he could do, and he didn’t feel like he was going to be able to think of anything, either.

It was crazy to fight. They had no chance of winning.

So what, then? Would they run? They could get killed the moment they turned their backs on the enemy. Some of them might, at least. They were boxed in on all sides.

That was why he was Swatting, Swatting, Swatting some more.

Is this okay?

There was no way it was. He needed to make a decision.

If they dug in and continued the battle, they were guaranteed to all die. If they ran, some of them might survive.

Of course, Haruhiro would stay to the very end, working to make sure as many of them got out as possible. He was the leader, after all. He had to do that much, at least. Yeah, he’d probably die. Not that he wanted to. He couldn’t do the admirable thing and say he was prepared for it, but he would do what he knew he ought to do.

He didn’t care what happened to himself. If Haruhiro’s one life would pay for all of his comrades getting away, he was fine with that. But that wasn’t how it would work. More than one person would be sacrificed. It was looking especially bad for Shihoru.

Besides, even if they cut their way out of here, after that, they would—No, he had to focus on now. What was the best thing to do at this moment? If he started thinking about what came next, he wouldn’t be able to decide on anything. Even if it was just one of them who would get away, he wanted that person to survive.

The white giant had closed in to a distance of around ten meters away. Haruhiro didn’t have any time to spare.

While Swatting a spear, Haruhiro shouted. “Ru—”

Or he started to, but then he quickly closed his mouth.

No way. That’s just too cool. Haruhiro Swatted another Pansuke’s spear, then shouted something else. This time, a name. “Tada-san!”

“Tornado Slam!” Tada whooshed in with incredible speed, spinning around horizontally and slamming his warhammer into the white giant’s left ankle. The impact made the white giant stop and look down at Tada.

“Go, go...” the giant said.

“Hey there, small fry.” Tada shouldered his warhammer, then stuck up the middle finger of his right hand. “I’ll take you on. Bring it.”

“Ohm, rel, ect, nemun, darsh!” Shihoru shouted.

Shadow Bond. Shihoru fixed a shadow elemental to the ground, stopping the Tori-san who was directing his Pansuke follower to put pressure on Kuzaku.

“Haaaaa!” Kuzaku immediately lured the Pansuke away from the Tori-san and went to work on him. He used Block on the Pansuke’s spear. Then, stepping in after a Thrust, he used Bash to hit the Pansuke in the face with his shield. From there he pushed him down, ramming his longsword into the Pansuke’s one eye.

“Ranta, get the Tori-san!” Haruhiro called.

When Haruhiro called out, Ranta’s reply was “Die!”

Who’re you telling to die?!

Even so, Ranta started to cross blades with the Tori-san. When it was Thunder Sword Dolphin against Thunder Sword Dolphin, neither would be shocked. The Tori-san had his Mirror Shield, too, though, so Ranta wouldn’t be able to push past his defenses that easily, but even a total idiot like Ranta (that piece of trash) could be used to buy time. Without Haruhiro needing to tell him what to do, Kuzaku went to support Yume and Merry.

Haruhiro Swatted, Swatted, and Swatted again to defend himself from the spears of the two Pansukes in front of him.

The six-meter class white giant chased after Tada, slamming its fist down and trying to stomp on him, both with resounding thuds, but it hadn’t managed it yet. Tada still had his warhammer resting on his shoulder, leisurely avoiding the white giant’s attacks with minimal effort. He wasn’t especially nimble, but he was unnaturally gutsy. Did Tada think he was invincible or something? He moved with absolute confidence. Even if it did manage to kill him, it didn’t feel like that would be enough to keep Tada down.

Not long after that, Tokimune arrived, his white teeth shining.

“You’re still alive, huh?” Tokimune called.

Kikkawa was there, too. Inui, Mimorin, and Anna-san, as well. Tada and Tokimune got on opposite sides of the white giant, taking turns provoking it, and skillfully dragging it around.

“Yahoo, Ranchicchi! I’m here to make my dashing entrance!” Kikkawa declared, taking a swing at the Tori-san.

“You dolt! Who’re you calling Ranchicchi?!” Ranta immediately went on the offensive. “I don’t let people make me owe them one!”

“You just can’t show your gratitude, Ranchicchi! You’re so tsun, tsun, dere, dere, it’s just adowable!”

“Shut your face!” Ranta screamed. “I’ll kill you, Kikkawa!”

“Shut up and kill them all! Yeah?!”

Inui, for some reason, had a glint in the eye that wasn’t covered by his eyepatch. “Heh...” he laughed to himself, as he wandered around the area.

What’re you even doing, man? Haruhiro was so dumbfounded, he slipped up and nearly missed his Swat.

“Ah!”

“Hahh!” Mimorin yelled.

If Mimorin hadn’t swung down her staff with all her might, whacking the Pansuke’s head from behind with a loud thud, he’d almost certainly have been injured, or worse. Following her staff, Mimorin’s sword landed a punishing blow on the top of the Pansuke’s head.

Taking advantage of her unusual physique, Mimorin’s sword technique was incredibly powerful, even though she used more than a sword. There was no careful technique involved—it was basically just big swings, and she left a lot of openings. However, when she hit, her blows had the force behind them to one-shot her enemies.

Incidentally, elementals, which weren’t visible to the human eye in their normal state, hated most metals, so mages had to stay away from iron and copper. However, if they used a special process called elemental coating, it was apparently fine. Mimorin’s sword had an elemental coating, and that was supposed to be pretty expensive. Despite that, she treated it with little care.

Mimorin kicked the Pansuke she had just landed that two-blow combo on to the ground with a “Hmph!” and then swung at the other Pansuke with her staff and sword.

“You bullied Haruhiro!” Mimorin shouted. “You can’t do that! Absolutely not!”

Could it be that Mimorin’s... angry? wondered Haruhiro. Looks like it.

Though she was expressionless, her face was red. Though the Pansuke tried to swing and stab at her with his spear, Mimorin ignored it and whacked him with her staff and sword. She pounded away. It was terrifying how hard she whaled on him.

Eventually, the Pansuke couldn’t even stay on his feet, collapsing to the ground where he stood, but she still hit him, and hit him, and hit him until he collapsed to the ground, pulverized. He was close to breathing his last, if he hadn’t already.

Mimorin turned to face Haruhiro. “I was worried.”

“...That’s, uh... well... So...rry...?”

“It’s okay.” Mimorin shook her head. “I’m glad I could see you again, safe and sound.”

“...Me, too.”

“Yeah. It’s great.”

Haruhiro started to panic. “Uh, uhhhhh, hold on, th-there’re still enemies!”

“There are.”

“We’ve gotta kill them.”

“I’ll kill them.”

“L-Let’s do it,” Haruhiro said.

“I’ll do it.”

“B-But...” Haruhiro looked around the area.

Kuzaku, Merry, and Yume were working together against two Pansukes. Ranta and Kikkawa were overwhelming the Tori-san. At the rate things were going, they’d have things wrapped up here sooner or later.

Inui was still wandering aimlessly.

No, seriously, what are you doing, man?

Ignoring that nonsensical deviant for the moment, the issue, it went without saying, was the white giant.

“Come on!” Tokimune banged his sword on his shield.

“Go, go!” The white giant lowered itself down and swung its right arm.

“There!” Tokimune slipped under the white giant’s onrushing right arm, avoiding it marvelously.

“Over here!” Tada called out to the white giant.

The white giant looked for Tada, and it found him. Instead of its hands, it used its foot. The white giant tried to kick Tada. It was a close one. Tada tumbled to the left, avoiding the white giant’s right foot.

The first thing Tada had done was slam his warhammer into the white giant’s right shin. While it showed a clear indentation, the way it was moving didn’t indicate anything resembling damage.

“Kill it! Kill it dead, yeah?!” Anna-san shouted. Anna-san could shout and encourage them until her voice went hoarse, but it was going to be a little difficult to pull that off.

Shihoru gripped her staff, looking around restlessly. It looked like there was nothing she could do, and no spell she could cast.

If it had been a four-meter class white giant, maybe she could have done something, but against a six-meter class white giant, it would be seriously tough. If there had been more obstacles, or something she could’ve used to stand on, she might have been able to do something better... maybe? Either way, in the current situation, she couldn’t even find a way to attack.

“Haru?!” Merry shouted his name. Haruhiro was being asked what to do.

Don’t ask me. He got frustrated. Calm down, calm down, calm down. Look, and think. That’s right. Look.

His body suddenly floated up.

No.

It wasn’t that Haruhiro was actually floating. That was obvious. It could never happen. This was a mental thing, you could say. Haruhiro’s mind left his body—like an out-of-body experience, maybe? He hadn’t experienced one before, so he couldn’t say with any certainty that this was what one would feel like, but Haruhiro was seeing things that he couldn’t possibly have been able to while standing down on the ground.

It only lasted an instant.

Maybe that was a hallucination. Or rather, it has to have been, right? But... I was able to see it. Or, at the very least, I felt like I was able to.

For that instant, Haruhiro had been looking down at an angle on the six-meter class white giant. The many cultists, the other giants, and the other volunteer soldiers, too—he had been able to see the whole area.

It was a strange way of seeing things. It wasn’t like he was seeing it clearly with his eyes, but it wasn’t vague and blurry, either. It had been sort of like a picture, or a detailed diagram. Whatever it was, he’d had a flash of inspiration thanks to it.

It was the sort of idea that made him think, Why didn’t this occur to me sooner? Not that he could have helped that.

“Well, you know, I’m just an ordinary guy, after all,” Haruhiro murmured.

“You’re special, Haruhiro,” Mimorin said with a sullen look on her face. “To me.”

“...Thanks.”

I went and thanked her without thinking about it. I don’t think it’s good for me to be doing that. I need to shut her down more firmly. I’ll be more careful from now on. For now, though, I’ll focus on doing what needs to be done. That’s what I’ll do.

“We’ll drop it into the valley,” Haruhiro said, to which Mimorin nodded, then tilted her head to the side quizzically.

“How?”

“Yeah. That there is the problem...”

“You can do it if you try,” she encouraged. Mimorin was acting like she always did, and it was strangely calming.

When Haruhiro and Mimorin moved, Kuzaku, Merry, and Yume came with them. Ranta and Kikkawa looked like they’d still need some more time to take down the Tori-san. Anna-san had moved next to Shihoru at some point. Also, Inui was there, too.

Haruhiro caught Tokimune’s eye. “Into the valley!” Haruhiro tried to communicate it with those few words and a gesture.

Tokimune flashed him a toothy grin, so he must have understood—right? It was probably fine.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Tokimune was banging on his shield and trying to lure the white giant to him, just like he had been all along, but he was clearly choosing a course that would take him to the settlement’s valley.

Tada was a weirdo, but he was by no means slow, so he was bound to catch on.

“Mimorin, protect Anna-san!” Haruhiro said to her and then sped up. He needed to get ahead of them and pick out a good spot. He had an idea.

In that valley with the spring, there were some slopes that were gentle and easily climbed up or down, but there were also steep ones that could be called cliffs. First, they needed to drive it to the cliff’s edge. Could he do it...? Well, according to Mimorin, he could if he tried. He was going to do it.

He scoped out the location of the cliff he had been thinking of for himself. It was about ten meters deep there, maybe. That wasn’t too shallow. Well, it would be good enough.

The white giant was getting closer, led on by Tokimune and Tada. Ranta and Kikkawa seemed to have taken out the Tori-san, too.

There were another seven or eight cultists and a four-meter class white giant coming their way. He wished they wouldn’t, but he was hardly surprised. It was always really apparent where the Tokkis were.

It made Haruhiro realize all over again that his party alone wasn’t enough. And not just by a small margin. They were far from being sufficient.

He’d been aware of that, of course. But had he not been starting to misunderstand it? If something happened, there was no guarantee the Tokkis would be there to help them. In fact, just a moment ago, they had been on the verge of defeat. The Tokkis had only come around by chance. That was why they’d survived. It had been a bit of good fortune. Or, putting it the opposite way, if they hadn’t gotten just a little lucky, there would have been casualties.

The difference between life and death was paper-thin. One mistake, or even one spot of misfortune, and they might trip and fall through that thin barrier between one and the other.

That was how Manato and Moguzo had left them. They had gone far away, to a place where Haruhiro and the party couldn’t reach them.

It wouldn’t be strange for any of the others to follow them there. They had found themselves at the crossroads many times before now. It was only because, somehow or another, the paths he had chosen had all led to “life” that Haruhiro and the rest of the party were still here. This time had been the same.

If they messed up and walked down the path to “death,” they would never come back.

It was a dizzying thought. He didn’t want to do this anymore. He wanted to live in peace. Probably, it wasn’t like he couldn’t do it if he tried. They could find some sort of work in Alterna, earn money that way. Haruhiro had changed from how he’d been when he’d first enlisted as a volunteer soldier. If he tried it now, surely it wouldn’t be impossible for him.

I’ll give it some serious thought.

Later, of course.

If I make it out of this intact.

“Haruhiro!” Tokimune rushed over to him. “Get away from there! Leave this to me!”

“Okay!” Haruhiro ran off to the right. While he cut through the tents that the merchants had abandoned here, he kept an eye on Tokimune, who was about to reach the cliff’s edge.

“Go, go, go!” The white giant pursued Tokimune.

Tokimune came to a sudden stop, turning to face the white giant. The cliff was right behind him at this point. “Heeeey! Catch me if you caaaan!”

“Go...” The white giant, however, came to a stop.

Ah... is it on to us?

“You moron, it’s way too obvious!” Ranta jeered at Haruhiro.

He might have been able to take it from anyone else, but when that piece of trash said it, it hurt. Or rather, Haruhiro was in shock.

But it’s not over yet.

“Plan B!” someone shouted.

Yes. He was there, too. The priest who had once been a warrior, who was still mostly a warrior. The man with the heavy warhammer. He who knew no fear, the Tokkis’ Mr. Destructive Ability.

Tada.

Tada charged at the white giant from behind and did a somersault. “Somersault Boooooooooomb!”

His warhammer exploded into the white giant’s Achilles tendon—or where it would be if white giants had an Achilles tendon, that was—and sent chunks of its flesh, or whatever it was made of, flying everywhere.

Plan B.

Wait, what’s that? Haruhiro thought, stunned.

If he were to guess, luring it over the edge of the cliff had been Plan A, and dragging or pushing it over the edge of the cliff was Plan B. Haruhiro had honestly only thought of Plan A. However, with Tada’s strength...

“Go, go!” The white giant tried to do an about-face as it stumbled. That was when it happened.

“Delm, hel, en, balk, zel, arve!” Mimorin called.

“Jess, yeen, sark, kart, fram, dart!” Shihoru added.

There was a flash of light and a blast of smoke on the white giant’s chest, while a number of streaks of lightning struck its face and shoulders. Blast and Thunderstorm. Had they signaled each other, or was it coincidence? Mimorin and Shihoru had launched their magical attacks simultaneously. Even the great six-meter class white giant had to bend backwards from that.

Oh, right, Haruhiro realized. That makes sense. If one spell’s power isn’t enough, they can just combine them. That’s one way of doing it, huh.

“Whoosh!” Yume called. She used Rapid Fire, loosing a number of arrows in quick succession, sniping the white giant’s one eye. In a remarkably rare occurrence, Inui followed suit and fired an arrow of his own.

“Aieeeeeeee!” Anna-san squealed and jumped into the air. “Fuck off!”

“Tokimune-san!” Haruhiro began.

Without Haruhiro needing to say any more, Tokimune moved away from the edge of the cliff.

“Delm, hel, en, balk, zel, arve!”

“Jess, yeen, sark, kart, fram, dart!”

One more shot. No, two shots. Mimorin’s and Shihoru’s Blast and Thunderstorm gave it the last push, forcing the white giant to bend back even farther. At this point, it could hold out no longer. It couldn’t stay on its feet.

The white giant seemed aware of the cliff, but it had to move its left leg in that direction in order to support itself. However, there was no ground there. It was a cliff, after all.

Falling. The white giant was falling.

“Nice!” Kuzaku pumped his arm.

Merry placed her hand over her chest, looked up to the heavens, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah!” Yume was all smiles.

“See, I told you so!” Ranta screamed. He was so excited, he was babbling nonsense.

“Happy New Year! Wow!” Kikkawa made even less sense.

Why is it suddenly New Year’s?

Haruhiro didn’t want to rain on their parade, but this wasn’t the end of things. He took a short breath.

“Next! Six Pansukes, two Tori-sans, one four-meter class giant! Incoming!”

“Hahahahaha!” Tada laughed as he pushed up his glasses with his left index finger. “It’s nice having no shortage of enemies to crush.”

“We can have at them with mirth and good cheer, huh!” Tokimune seemed to truly be enjoying himself. “Let’s do this, guys! Anna-san, we’re counting on you for some good cheering!”

“You can super-duper leave it to me, yeah!” Anna-san puffed her chest out with pride and thrust her fist forward. “For as long as sun is in sky and Anna-san is on ground, victory will be yours! Everybody, fight for Anna-san!”

What, this is all for Anna-san now? Haruhiro wasn’t sure he was down with that, but the others were erupting in cheers, and it seemed to be raising their morale, so he decided to let it slide.

“Ranta, take one of the Tori-sans!” he called. “Kuzaku, take as many Pansukes as you think you can handle!”

“I’ll do it, so you better pay me the proper respect, Parupiro!” Ranta hollered.

“’Kay!” Kuzaku called.

“Merry, Yume, Shihoru, you stay bunched together for now!”

“Got it!”

“Meow!”

“...Okay!”

“Tada!” Tokimune took off running. “We’re gonna take out the white giant!”

“I could do it myself,” Tada bragged.

“Count me in to help, too! Peace, peace! Yay, yay, yay!” Kikkawa yelled.

Tada and Kikkawa followed Tokimune. It looked like Mimorin would be guarding Anna-san. Inui, meanwhile, was wandering around aimlessly near Shihoru.

No, seriously, what is with that guy?

Kuzaku could manage three of the Pansukes, while Haruhiro, Merry, Yume, and Shihoru would quickly take care of the rest. One of the Tori-sans would go to Ranta, but what about the other?

Haruhiro could probably count on Tokimune, Tada, and Kikkawa to handle the white giant. He glanced towards the valley. They hadn’t exactly finished off the six-meter class, so it was sure to climb back up here eventually. They needed to wipe out the reinforcements before that, and then high-tail it out of here.

Hurry. But don’t be hasty.

Tada lunged towards the white giant.

Man, I’m amazed he can do that without being afraid.

Kuzaku bravely used Bash on the Pansukes’ spears, sweeping them aside with his long sword. Their party paladin wasn’t a nutcase like Tada. Because of that, it made Haruhiro think, Damn, Kuzaku’s incredible. He’s awesome, seriously. Maybe I have Merry to thank for that. Yeah, I figure he wouldn’t want to look lame in front of the person he loves.

Whatever the case, he wouldn’t let Kuzaku’s hard work go to waste.

He could see that line.

That dimly shining line.

It wasn’t straight. It bent and twisted many times. It was a proposal being offered to him by his situational awareness that arose from his observations, combined with his predictions based on experience.

Hey, if I do this right now, wouldn’t it work out? it said. If he delayed even a tenth of a second, it would be of no use anymore. In Haruhiro’s case, fortunately, whether by habit or some other force, he never hesitated when he saw the line—or rather, by the time he saw it, he was already on the move.

With smooth steps, he rushed past one of the Pansukes, burying his dagger in the cultist’s one eye as he did.

While pulling it free, he performed a Shatter on the Pansuke next to him, then followed up by using the sap in his left hand to perform Hitter on the other Pansuke’s jaw.

To top it all off, he landed a Shatter on yet another Pansuke. Then, he pulled back.

“Ohhhhhhhh!” Kuzaku scattered the Pansukes with his longsword and shield. One Pansuke was dead, and three had been thrown into disorder when Haruhiro had caught them by surprise, so they couldn’t stop Kuzaku.

Do we all pile on them now? No, Haruhiro thought.

“Ah!” Kuzaku backed away. When someone took a swing at him with a Thunder Sword Dolphin, all he could do was avoid it.

It was a Tori-san. Two of them, at that. What was Ranta doing?

“Exhaust!”

There he was. About damn time.

Ranta leapt in and attacked one of the Tori-sans from the side. There was a loud clash as Thunder Sword Dolphin met Thunder Sword Dolphin. Ranta won the pushing contest and threw the Tori-san off-balance. But there were two Tori-sans. The other one took a thrust at Ranta.

“Exhaust!” Ranta shot straight backwards at an incredible speed.

If the Tori-sans went after him, they would be playing right into Ranta’s hands. Sadly, they didn’t. The Tori-sans both focused their attacks on Kuzaku.

“Oh, crap! I can’t take two of them!” Kuzaku was forced to run around.

The Pansukes were using that opening to attempt to regroup.

“Rantaaaa!” Haruhiro shouted despite himself.

“I’m just getting started, okay?” Ranta contorted his entire body and took up a strange pose with his Thunder Sword Dolphin turned sideways. “O Darkness! O Lord of Vice! Dread Wave!”

Maybe his moronic pose caught their attention, because it wasn’t just Haruhiro—the Pansukes and Tori-sans were staring at Ranta, too.

Well, not like anything will happen, though.

That much was obvious. It wasn’t only the God of Light, Lumiaris, whose power didn’t reach the Dusk Realm. The Dark God, Skullhell’s, didn’t either.

“Huh?” Haruhiro looked on with surprise and dismay. “What? Huh? Why?”

“Hmph...” Ranta looked down at the ground. “Totally forgot I can’t use magic here.”

“Stupid Rantaaaa!” Yume shouted.

Ranta really was an idiot, and a piece of trash, and he was beyond all help, but the enemy had stopped moving. Even if this was an unexpected side effect of his idiocy, as volunteer soldiers, they ought to exploit it to its fullest.

“Ohm, rel, ect, el, nemun, darsh!”

Shadow Pond. Shihoru affixed a shadow elemental to the ground where the two Tori-sans were standing. They wouldn’t be moving from that spot for a while.

“Get the Pansukes!” Haruhiro immediately ordered, and Kuzaku lunged at them.

“Zeeah! Rahhh! Oryahhhhh!” he yelled.

Haruhiro circled around behind the Pansukes. Yume drew her machete and came at them swinging. Merry didn’t leave Shihoru’s side.

Suddenly, though Haruhiro didn’t see the line, he got the feeling he could take one of them down. Gotta kill them when I can, he reasoned. Okay, now’s the time...

But when he went in for a Backstab, someone suddenly stole his kill.

“Heh!” It was Inui. That deviant Inui landed a jump-kick on the Pansuke’s back, knocking him down, then stomped hard on the cultist’s jaw.

Crack. There was an unpleasant sound, and his neck bent in a direction it was never meant to.

“I am Inui! He who brings destruction from the heavens!”

Man, that was impressive and all. But it came out of nowhere. You spooked me.

Inui turned to Shihoru with a mysterious glint in the one eye that wasn’t covered by his eyepatch. “Oh, my fated bride, walk the path of carnage with me!”

“No way.” It was an immediate response, and in a rather strong tone for Shihoru. Well, of course it would be.

“Heh...” Inui turned and went the other way. “For now, I bid you farewell...”

—Wait, huh? You’re going? Where the hell to?

That wasn’t clear, but Inui dashed off.

Well... Maybe we’ll just let him do what he wants? I mean, he doesn’t have to come back if he doesn’t want to. We’re busy enough taking care of ourselves.

Tokimune, Tada, and Kikkawa were circling the white giant as they attacked it. It looked like Tokimune and Kikkawa were harassing it and acting as decoys, while Tada was the one putting in the heavy blows. The white giant already had damage to both of its legs. The way things were going, it looked like those three could take it out, but it wasn’t going to be quick.

There’s still time before the Tori-sans break free from Shadow Pond or its effect expires. In that time, if we can just get the four Pansukes—

But while Haruhiro was thinking that...

“Delm, hel, en, balk, zel, arve!”

...the Tori-sans got blown away. It was the Blast spell.

They were pounded into the ground, then rolled a bit—but they were getting up. It didn’t look like they were completely unharmed, but they didn’t seem to have taken serious injuries from it, either.

Miiiimoriiiin, Haruhiro moaned silently. Damn, their ponchos really are durable.

“Oh, well.” Muttering to himself a little, Haruhiro decided to change gears. He couldn’t change what had already happened. Kuzaku, Haruhiro, Ranta, Yume, Merry, Shihoru, and Mimorin would have to take out the two Tori-sans and four Pansukes.

We’ve even got Anna-san cheering us on, so we do have the numerical advantage, you know. We can do it. We should be able to. I’m sure of it. Probably.

Kuzaku kept three of the Pansukes under control, while Yume dealt with the other. Ranta looked like he was aiming for a Tori-san. If he didn’t do so, they’d be in trouble.

While keeping an eye on the Tori-sans, first they would have to quickly reduce the number of Pansukes, and then—

Haruhiro glanced towards the valley. Just to be on the safe side.

He looked again to check what he was seeing.

“...Already?”

This is terrible.

Wasn’t that the six-meter class white giant trying to climb up out of the valley?

It was a shock, but Haruhiro didn’t lose his head over it. He couldn’t claim this had been within his range of expectations. He’d been focused on other things, after all. But they just had to cope with it.

The volunteer soldiers were pulling back.

They’re retreating?

Where’re they gonna run to?

And why?

“That, huh...” he realized. This time, he couldn’t help but lose his head.

From the south.

There’s something coming.

It’s big, white, and writhing.

Well, yeah, of course. Of course they’d run. I want to run, too. There’s no choice but to run from that thing.

Its height wasn’t that enormous, although it did look bigger than the six-meter class giant. The problem was its length. It was twenty meters long, maybe twenty-five. It might have even reached thirty meters long. Possibly even more.

The hydra.

It was an unsettling, giant creature that looked like nine snakes of two to three meters in diameter had all been balled up together. If it attacked them, what would they do?

Haruhiro, of course, would flee to the ends of the earth. That would be the normal response.

It seemed Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, and Orion all agreed with Haruhiro’s view. They were human, too. Thank goodness. Was that good? No? It wasn’t particularly good.

Haruhiro didn’t take any time to think about what to do. “Tokimune, it’s the hydra! We’ve gotta run!”

“Whoa...!” Tokimune made his decision quickly. “Okay, everyone run! Protect Anna-san!”

“Just when we were almost done here. Dammit.” Though he complained while he did it, Tada shouldered his warhammer and took off at a run.

“Run, run, ruuuun! Yep! Run!” Kikkawa was cheery even at time like this.

Even though Anna-san was supposed to be the group’s cheerleader, she was grinding her teeth in audible frustration. “It time for strategic retreat, yeah, damn it! No choice, yeah?!”

“Let’s go.” Mimorin grabbed Anna-san by the scruff of the neck and dragged her away.

“Meow...!” Yume turned and fled.

“Just when I was about to show you all how great I am!” Ranta went, too.

Merry hesitated.

“I’ll be fine, so go!” Kuzaku didn’t back away. Or rather, he couldn’t. If he tried to, the Pansukes would gang up on him and beat him to a pulp.

“Haruhiro-kun...?!” Shihoru looked to Haruhiro.

“Go, Shihoru! You, too, Merry!” Haruhiro ran as fast as he could, trying to will himself to See it, see it! —That line. It was times like this when he really wanted to see it.

But, of course, it wasn’t anything so convenient.

Haruhiro was no hero. He was just a leader. That’s why he had no choice to do what he should, and what he could, as a leader.

“Kuzaku, give ’em hell!” he called.

“Roger that! Ruahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Kuzaku used his longsword to sweep a number of spears away, then used Bash on the Pansuke in front of him. “Dahhhhh! Gahhseahhh! Rahh! Nwahhhhhhhh!”

Without stopping, Kuzaku swung his sword around while protecting himself with his shield, and advanced. Even when the Pansukes’ spears reached his armor, he ignored them and advanced.

Kuzaku was wearing sturdy plate armor. That said, when he took a good hard hit to his armor, it still had to hurt. He’d get bruised, at least.

Hang in there. Hang in there, please, Kuzaku.

“There!” Haruhiro grappled one of the Pansukes, not from behind, but from the side, and strangled him using his left arm while he stabbed his dagger into the cultist’s single eye.

That was pretty forced just now, wasn’t it? If I’d messed up my timing even a little, I’d have been in danger. Scary...!

He could feel a cold mass of fear cling to the inside of his stomach. But so what? What difference did it make?

Haruhiro got in close to another Pansuke, pulling off a combo with Shatter and Hitter. Yet another Pansuke reached out to get him with his spear, but he jumped to avoid it. Even as he cried out, Oh, crap, oh, crap, this is seriously dangerous, in his heart, he Swatted the spear twice.

While screaming, Seriously, I’ve had enough, give me a break, augh! in his head, he stepped in and used Arrest to seize the Pansuke’s arm, followed by a leg sweep to trip him.

“Assuh!” Kuzaku let out a mysterious shout to psyche himself up, then used Bash to knock one Pansuke flying.

Now, let’s run, Haruhiro thought.

He didn’t have to say anything to get that message across. Haruhiro and Kuzaku took off running at the same time.

“Ha ha!” Kuzaku laughed as he ran. “This is awesome! Ha ha ha! Just awesome!”

No, um, buddy, now’s not the time for laughing. Well, it’s not like I don’t get how he feels. Kuzaku must have been pretty scared, too. Now that he’s set free from it, he’s feeling a high. But is that all? He’s enjoying this crazy bad situation so much he can’t help himself. Could that be part of it? The thrill of it all is addictive. I want to live in peace. That’s how I really feel, but the question is if I can. What would a life without stuff like this be like? Surprisingly less boring than I might expect...?

The Pansukes, the Tori-sans, and the four-meter class white giant chased after them. Behind them were volunteer soldiers, cultists, white giants, and even the hydra.

Where they were headed was the valley and the six-meter class white giant that would soon crawl up out of it.

This is the worst. I feel terrible. I wish this were all just a dream. Can someone take my place? Like, I want some help here, you know? I’m not kidding. If someone will save us, and guarantee me and my comrades our safety, I’ll do anything. No lie. No matter what it is.

I don’t want to go through all this. It’s ultra-stressful, you know? Man, I’ve had it with this, seriously. I’m fed up. It’s not fun at all, okay?

I think we might die, too. This time, we may just be out of luck. What’ll happen when we die? Do we go to heaven? Or hell, maybe? Do we cease to exist? Return to the void?

I don’t want to die. I’m scared of dying. I don’t wanna. No, no, no, I don’t want this.

Yeah. I knew it. I don’t need this. This sort of situation. I don’t mind a little thrill now and then, but I don’t need this extreme life-and-death stuff. Haruhiro felt it quite keenly. I want to live in peace!

Tokimune and the others who had gone on ahead of them looked like they were taking a detour around the valley to reach the initial hill.

Will they be able to avoid the six-meter class that way? Haruhiro thought. Or not? I dunno, maybe it could go either way?

It didn’t seem like their pursuers were about to catch up to them for the moment.

Even if the route was a bit questionable, they had to take it.

The six-meter class was already out of the valley up to its waist. It supported itself with its left arm and swung with its right.

“Go, go, go, go, go!” the giant called.

It was trying to slam Tokimune and Tada with its right hand.

“Dodge it!” Haruhiro shouted.

They didn’t need him to tell them that. Tokimune, Tada, and even Kikkawa threw themselves to the ground to get away from the white giant’s right hand.

The white giant braced itself with both arms and lifted its body up. While it was doing that, Mimorin and Anna-san, Ranta, Yume, Shihoru, and Merry all passed in front of it.

Inui was missing. But who cared about that deviant?

Haruhiro and Kuzaku stood there, unable to move.

“Whoaaaaaaaaaa?!” Haruhiro shouted.

“Wha... Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha...?!” Kuzaku sputtered.

The six-meter class white giant rose up before their very eyes. To be precise, it had just gotten out of the valley, so it was still down on one knee, but it was still big. It was huuuuge. But if they stopped here, the enemies behind them would catch up. It would be like saying, Why, yes, please do try to hit us, to the white giant, too.

Haruhiro slapped Kuzaku on the back. It was do or die time. “G-Go! Go for it! We have to!”

“Guhsuh!”

What the hell does “guhsuh” mean?

That wasn’t clear, but Kuzaku took off running. His running form was a little awkward, though. Not that Haruhiro’s was much better.

As if we could run smoothly now!

“Go, go...!”

The white giant tried to slug Kuzaku and Haruhiro with its left hand while still on one knee, or maybe it was trying to grab and crush them instead.

“Bwuh...!” Kuzaku slid headfirst to the ground, avoiding the white giant’s right hand.

“Ah...!” Haruhiro rolled to avoid it.

“Go, go, go!”

Next was the left hand. It came down at them.

“Uwahhhhhhhhhhh?!” Kuzaku tossed his shield and kept crawling forward. He was desperate.

Of course, Haruhiro was dashing like a madman with his butt on fire, too.

“Nnnnngh!” he grunted.

Is it gonna hit? Is it gonna hit me? Am I gonna get crushed?

When the ground shook violently, he let out a weird little shriek. It looked like he had made it.

“M-My shield!” Kuzaku gasped.

“I-I-I-I-It’s not worth your life, okay?!” Haruhiro yelled.

It got up!

The white giant got up!

“Go! Go, go! Go! Go, go! Go! Go, go, go!” The six-meter class white giant got up and danced. No, maybe it wasn’t dancing, but the way it was coming at Haruhiro and Kuzaku, it looked like it was following the steps of some sort of dance.

I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. It’s going in random directions. Anyway, we need to avoid its feet. That’s the best we can manage. We need to catch up with the others. I’d really love to do that, and we’re farther away from the valley than we were before, but what direction did they go in? No, that’s not what—

“Somersault Booooooooomb!”

Huh?

The white giant stopped moving. Or rather, it stumbled. That was because someone had slammed a warhammer into its left ankle, which was the leg that had been supporting it at the time.

—Tada.

Why is Tada here?

It wasn’t just Tada.

“Hah...!” called Tokimune.

When Tada slammed it with his Somersault Bomb, Tokimune hit it with Bash. Well, not so much Bash as an ordinary tackle. Still, he was up against a six-meter class white giant, you know? That wasn’t even going to shake it. If not for the fact that Tada’s Somersault Bomb had made it stumble, that is. It was their combined attack that made it work. Then, on top of that...

“Del, hel, en, balk, zel, arve!”

There was a flash of light and then an explosion near the white giant’s crotch for some reason. It was Mimorin’s Blast.

The white giant was thrown completely off-balance, and it stumbled backwards one, then two steps.

“Haruhiro!” Tokimune turned back with a flash of his white teeth. “We owed you one! We couldn’t leave you for dead!”

“Stop talking!” Tada spun around in a circle, then slammed his warhammer hard into the white giant’s left shin. “And attack! Tornado Slaaaaaaaaaam!”

“Gohhhhh?!” The white giant shook again. What power.

“Damn, he’s cool,” Kuzaku whispered.

Haruhiro felt the same way, but he prayed no one would start aspiring to be like that. If his party members started acting like that, his heart would never be able to handle the stress, even if he had more than one. And, fundamentally, humans only had one heart, so he’d probably die of a heart attack in no time. Besides, while Haruhiro and Kuzaku had survived thanks to it, was this really okay?

It wasn’t just Tokimune and Tada. There was Mimorin, who had cast the spell earlier, and Anna-san. Kikkawa was turning around and coming back. Ranta, Yume, Shihoru and Ranta, too. What about Inui? Haruhiro didn’t care about him, but they had lost their chance to escape now.

The cultists and four-meter class white giants would reach them soon. The volunteer soldiers and the hydra, too. It would become a chaotic melee. They’d be caught in the fray.

There were no guarantees that things would be any better where they were running to. Still, there was a major difference between things ending here and there being a next place for them to head towards. If they were caught up in that wave of enemies and allies, they were more or less sure to be finished. He couldn’t help but think that.

It looks like this is the end. I can feel my strength draining away. Well, of course it is. This is tough. How am I supposed to turn things around here? I mean, even if I did get us back on a proper footing, what then? I’m sure we’d still be screwed.

I wish I could just give up.

GAME OVER

That text flashed through his mind.

What was that?

Have I seen it somewhere before...?

GAME OVER

G A M E O V E R

- GAME OVER -

Game Over Continue? Yes / No

Will you continue? Y/N

GAME OVER RETRY?

game over

GAMEOVER

G A M E O V E R

A game, huh? Haruhiro thought. But this is no game.

“It isn’t, right? Manato, Moguzo?” he murmured.

That’s why I can’t give up. Not until the very end. Giving up is out of the question.

First, I need to look around. That’s right. Look. Look properly, and see.

Iron Knuckle and the Berserkers were, to some degree at least, moving together as a group. Orion was more spread out, but none of the white capes were completely isolated. They seemed to be moving as parties.

There were dozens—no, easily over a hundred cultists. Several hundred. As for the white giants, at a glance there were around ten of the four-meter class, two of the six-meter class, and one ridiculously huge one that looked like it was in the eight-meter class, too.

Then there was the hydra. That thing was bad news. Seriously.

“Kuzaku, you don’t have your shield, so don’t do anything too crazy,” Haruhiro warned.

“’Kay. Not like I could, anyway.”

“Come with me!”

Haruhiro brought Kuzaku with him and joined up with Ranta, Yume, Shihoru, and Merry. Kikkawa, Anna-san, and Mimorin were with them, too. Right after that, the cultists caught up with them.

“Kikkawa, I’m counting on you to be the main tank!” Haruhiro called.

“Righto! You just leave it to me!”

“Everyone, stay together!”

Everyone gave their own response, but Haruhiro was more focused on looking than listening. He had to be.

Kikkawa swung his sword around and drew the enemies to him. Kuzaku and Ranta shored up his defense on each side, attacking the enemies there. If there were enemies that the three of them couldn’t stop, then Yume, Merry, Mimorin, and finally Haruhiro would suppress them. Even Anna-san had some sort of stick-like weapon at the ready as she cheered on the rest of the group.

Shihoru was pretty badly winded. She was catching her breath and looking for the right time to use her magic. The other volunteer soldiers also stopped fleeing near where Haruhiro and the others were.

It was the hydra. It had caught up to the rear of the fleeing group of volunteer soldiers.

Ducky’s red hair was shaking around wildly as he shouted something. One of the Berserkers got punched by a white giant and sailed spinning through the air.

Oh, Haruhiro realized. Yeah, that guy’s dead. But now’s not the time to worry about others.

“Augh!” Yume cried out, and her body shuddered. It was a Tori-san. She had knocked Tori-san’s Thunder Sword Dolphin aside with her machete.

The Tori-san stepped in and tried to slash Yume.

He’s gonna kill her. Kill Yume. No, I won’t let him.

Haruhiro charged in and, rather than interpose himself between them, he tackled the Tori-san at the hip. He used his sap to Slap the hand the Tori-san was holding his Thunder Sword Dolphin with.

It connected. How’s that?

But the Tori-san didn’t drop his Thunder Sword Dolphin. He just pulled it back. Worse yet, he thrust out his Mirror Shield.

Oh, crap. Not good. I can’t avoid it.

“Urgh!” Haruhiro took the shield bash directly and was flipped right over.

Will I die? he thought for a second.

“There!” Mimorin called.

“Take that!” Merry shouted.

Thanks to his comrades, he didn’t have to die. It was a close call. Mimorin and Merry double-teamed the Tori-san and made him back away. Meanwhile, Yume helped Haruhiro to his feet.

“Sorry, Haru-kun!” she said.

“It’s fine!” he answered.

There were going to be mistakes. It wasn’t possible to reduce their failure rate to zero. The important thing was that they support whoever messed up, avoid getting injured, and survive. When holes started to open, they had to fill them in, or cover them to keep it from becoming noticeable. If they could just repeat that process steadily, they could get out of here alive somehow. If that was all it took, well, even if it might not be Haruhiro’s strong suit, he could make an attempt at least.

Though, naturally, there were limits.

Tokimune and Tada were still going at it with the six-meter class. Kikkawa, Kuzaku, and Ranta were doing well on the front line, and Haruhiro, Yume, Merry, and Mimorin were doing a relatively stable job in the rear, too. Thanks to that, Anna-san and Shihoru hadn’t had to do anything yet. The way things were going, they would probably be able to count on Shihoru’s magic when they needed it. They could support this system for now.

From what he could see, Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, Orion, and the other volunteer soldiers had all taken up formations of their own, and were managing to repel their enemies as a group.

If the enemy only had six-meter class white giants, it might not be impossible to defeat them one by one and then wipe out the enemy.

The problem was going to be the eight-meter class white giant and the hydra.

The eight-meter class’s movements seemed sluggish, even compared to the other white giants, but just by being there at all, it got in the way. Of course, it was also a threat.

The hydra was swinging five of its tentacles around to attack the volunteer soldiers, while the other four slithered around, pressing it forward.

When the eight-meter class white giant or the hydra were attacking, the volunteer soldiers couldn’t fight. That gave the cultists and other white giants an opening to attack. They were making a mess out of this battlefield.

The way things were going to work here was simple. If they did something about the eight-meter class and the hydra, the volunteer soldiers would win. That was, if they could just do something.

At the very least, that task was beyond Haruhiro and the party’s capabilities. Even the Tokkis would have a hard time with it. No, it would probably be impossible for them, too. As for Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, and Orion, if they could do it, they would have by this point. Things had gotten like this because they couldn’t.

Still, things hadn’t fallen apart yet. Whenever the occasional volunteer soldier got caught by the hydra’s tentacles, or kicked into the air by the eight-meter class, and their party looked ready to break and run, someone would quickly step in and support them. “One-on-One” Max, “Red Devil” Ducky, and Shinohara were running all over the place to assist their comrades.

Through great pain, the volunteer soldiers held their lines and were slowly backing away. Haruhiro and his party were doing so, too. It was a gradual retreat.

Even as they were being pushed hard, they held out the best they could.

There was going to be a break somewhere, no doubt.

Eventually it would be too much for them to endure, and they would collapse.

But it was strange. Even though they were clearly being chased down, the senior volunteer soldiers looked unperturbed, and were just doing their best. No one had given in to desperation, and no one gave off a sense of despair, either.

Had they all stopped thinking about things they didn’t have to think about so that they could focus on the task at hand?

In the end, people could only do the things they could do. They could give it their best. They couldn’t control the situation beyond that. Even if they wanted things to go a particular way, wish and pray as they might, it would only turn out the way it was going to turn out.

“Focus. Focus. Focus...”

While whispering that to himself, Haruhiro looked around. He looked and got a grasp of the situation. He Swatted a Pansuke’s spear.

There was a gap forming between their front line and rear line, so he had the rear line move up. There was another Pansuke coming up from the rear, so he had Yume and Merry fall back behind Anna-san and Shihoru.

Kuzaku was pretty exhausted. Haruhiro wanted to let him rest, but that wasn’t an option.

“Keep at it!” he shouted to him.

He Swatted a Pansuke’s spear. He wanted to chain that with Shatter, but that was only his wish. It wasn’t something he had judged was doable at this moment. He had to show restraint.

The eight-meter class hadn’t really gotten any closer, but the hydra had. Were Tokimune and Tada, who were jumping around near the six-meter class white giant, going to be okay?

“The hydra’s coming!” Haruhiro called.

He’d at least warned them. Then he Swatted a Pansuke’s spear. He ordered Kikkawa, Ranta, and Kuzaku to shift their positions to the left twice.

Swat, Swat, Swat.

He took a look around the area. It’s to the west, he thought. They were heading west. Towards the initial hill. The giant god was there.

In other words, the way things were going, they would eventually be caught between the hydra and the giant god. Though, only if they lasted that long.

No, no. Don’t think about that. Don’t get distracted. Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus.

“Gahhh!” Kikkawa accidentally struck a Tori-san’s Thunder Sword Dolphin and was stunned.

“You moron!” Ranta deflected the Thunder Sword Dolphin with his own Thunder Sword Dolphin to protect Kikkawa.

The front line broke formation, and it looked like the cultists would push past them.

For a moment, Haruhiro was scared, but they could make it through this. “Kikkawa, keep going and swap places with Ranta! Mimorin, support Kikkawa!”

“Righty-o!” Kikkawa shook his head to clear it as he passed Ranta.

“Aye!” Mimorin took a position diagonally behind Kikkawa, knocking aside a Pansuke’s spear with her staff.

I know there was another Tori-san around here, Haruhiro thought, scanning the area. There! He’s circled around behind us.

“Merry!”

Reacting to his warning, Merry twisted in time to avoid the Thunder Sword Dolphin.

“Ohm, rel, ect, el vel, darsh!”

Shihoru used Shadow Echo. Three shadow elementals flew towards the Tori-san. It was relatively close range.

They’d hit. No, the Tori-san had blocked two with his Mirror Shield. But one got him in the face.

The Tori-san’s head shot back like he’d been punched. Merry jabbed at his Mirror Shield with her short staff and made him back away even more. However, she couldn’t just focus on the Tori-san.

Merry and Yume had each been keeping a Pansuke busy. With the Tori-san getting involved on top of that, they were having trouble dealing with them. Even if Anna-san joined in, it would be too little, too late, and Shihoru wasn’t able to handle close combat. Haruhiro himself was already keeping two Pansukes busy with Swat.

Do I have Mimorin move back? he wondered. Or do I take someone off the front line and send them to help? Decide. Right now.

“Kuzaku, go to the back!”

“’Kay!” Kuzaku began to fall back immediately.

Kuzaku had probably been hopelessly worried about Merry. It would be easier for him if he was by her side, no doubt. Now, how to fill the hole he left?

Ranta was fully occupied dealing with the Tori-san in front, while Kikkawa was handling a number of enemies, too. Mimorin only had the one Pansuke for now. If Haruhiro took that one and freed up Mimorin...

Focus. I need to focus. Focus, focus.

The hydra.

It’s close.

It’s gotten pretty close. Maybe not? I dunno. But... it feels kinda close.

“Whoa!” Tokimune was hanging from his sword, which had been stabbed into the white giant close to its waist, and it looked like he was close to being shaken off.

What the heck is he doing? Though, white giants have pretty hard bodies. I guess it’s impressive that he managed to stab it in there, huh?

This is no good. Calm. I have to stay calm. Swat, Swat.

“Haaaaaze!” Tada screamed.

Tada swung his warhammer up on the diagonal, slamming it into the white giant’s left shin. The white giant’s massive body shook. The left shin. Come to think of it, Tada was stubbornly focused on hitting that one spot. He was serious. Tada really meant to fell the white giant. Together with Tokimune, it might actually be possible.

If they had had more time, those two might have taken care of the six-meter class white giant. In that instant, something must have happened, but Haruhiro wasn’t entirely sure. Or rather, why had what happened happened? And was it even possible?

He doubted his eyes.

The six-meter class white giant’s head had just suddenly exploded, after all. Like a watermelon being smashed with a stick. It wasn’t that unusual to see a watermelon get smashed, but this was a white giant’s head. Wasn’t it strange for it burst like that, with its contents scattering all over the place? It was weird, wasn’t it? Or was Haruhiro the one who was weird for thinking that way?

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!” Tada roared. “That was my prey! Who did that?!”

That’s right. It couldn’t possibly be a natural phenomenon, so someone must have done it. Was it magic? Who did it?

It didn’t take long for the answer to that to become clear.

“Ohhhhh?!” Ranta leapt backwards.

Yeah, I can’t blame him for being surprised.

The Tori-san’s head was gone.

An ax. It was an ax. Held by a short, stocky figure. The thick-bearded dwarf had closed in on the Tori-san from behind and decapitated him with his ax.

No way, Haruhiro thought. It shouldn’t be possible to cut through their ponchos. Does that not apply to that dwarf—to Branken?

“Gwahahahaaaaaah!” Branken let out a throaty and unsettling laugh as he went around cutting cultists cleanly in two one after another with the terrifying ax he held. He cut through them easily.

This is a kind of simple thing to question, but is that ax light? It looks kind of heavy, you know? How can Branken swing around an ax that’s bigger than he is so easily? Because he’s crazily strong? Is that how it works?

Haruhiro had been distracted by Branken, so it took some time to notice, but he wasn’t the only one who had come. Not far away, there was a large woman swinging around a massive sword, and, of course, cutting down cultists one after another, completely ignoring the blade-resisting property of their ponchos. That was Kayo.

There were also a mysterious number of cultists dropping like flies, even though they hadn’t been cut. Haruhiro wondered what it could be, but it was arrows. They were being shot through their single eye.

Where are the arrows coming from? he wondered. The west, huh.

They were probably coming from the west. When he looked that way, he spotted him. The beautiful elf boy with his bow at the ready. It was Taro.

The short former mage, Gogh, and the beautiful mage, Miho, stood behind Taro with an air of composure. The spell that had gone off might have been from Gogh. Or perhaps it was Miho’s.

And then...

“Sorry. We’re running late.”

That man walked in. Drawing his sword, it was the former strongest, the man who was an indisputable legend.

“That guy’s got one hell of an aura...” Ranta said with an admiring groan.

He can say that again, Haruhiro thought.

People often talked about someone with a lot of presence having an aura, but this might have been what a real aura looked like.

“Akira-san!” Someone called out his name.

“It’s Akira-san!”

“Akira-san’s here!”

“Akira-san!”

“Woo! Akira-san!”

“We’ve got Akira-san!”

The atmosphere changed in an instant. Akira-san. It was Akira-san. The whole area was dyed in Akira-san’s colors! Enveloped by his aura!

The cultists were going down in a one-sided fight against Branken, Kayo, and Taro, and they were in an utter panic.

Oh, oh? What’s with that four-meter class white giant? It’s turning towards Akira-san, isn’t it?

Akira-san was a big man, but the difference in size between him and the white giant was still greater than that between a child and an adult. Even so—damn, Akira-san was huge. For some reason he looked larger than the white giant.

Well, that’s reckless, thought Haruhiro.

The white giant foolishly took a swing at Akira-san. Naturally, it never stood a chance of hitting. Akira-san turned and evaded it as easily as he might have avoided a butterfly fluttering along, letting the white giant’s right fist fly past him. With a slight movement, somehow he managed to get right behind the white giant.

“And... there!” Akira-san climbed the white giant. He didn’t clamber up it. With the ease of walking up a hill, Akira-san reached the white giant’s shoulders right before their eyes.

Haruhiro was watching it happen, but he couldn’t understand. It might not have been completely vertical, but it had been an incredibly steep angle. Wasn’t it insane that he could climb it like that?

“Rest in peace, okay?” Akira-san buried his sword deep in the white giant’s single eye. In a rather offhanded manner, too. It was like he wanted to say, Hey, at least put up a fight.

Not that it could have heard him if he did say it. It was too late for that.

The white giant collapsed.

Just before the white giant’s back touched the ground, Akira-san flipped into the air and came down with a graceful landing.

“Well, doesn’t that just beat all.” Tokimune laughed in amazement. “He’s in a whole other dimension from us, huh?”

It really is another dimension, Haruhiro agreed. There’s that much of a difference between us?

“Yeah, so what?!” Tada pushed up his glasses with his left index finger, then rushed over and swung his warhammer down at the nearest Tori-san. “I’ll make a new dimension of my own!”

The Tori-san’s head and the Mirror Shield he attempted to defend himself with were both crushed, and he collapsed to the ground.

“Yahoo!” Kikkawa jumped for joy. “Not just another dimension, but a new one, huh?!”

With those words as their signal—no, that was definitely not what it was—the volunteer soldiers began their counterattack. It was no simple counterattack, though. It was a violent onslaught, a massive counteroffensive.

After all, the absolutely legendary team of Akira-san, Branken, Kayo, Taro, Gogh, and Miho were mowing down cultists and white giants like they were cutting weeds. It was less clear with the white giants, but the cultists did seem to come equipped with emotions, and it looked like shock and panic were included. The cultists were looking ready to flee. The volunteer soldiers, emboldened by Akira-san’s arrival, moved as one to attack them.

The Pansukes’ spears broke one after another. The Tori-sans’ Thunder Sword Dolphins weren’t so scary when everyone rushed them at once. Their weapons were battered from their hands, and their Mirror Shields were trampled. The four- and six-meter class white giants were felled one after another.

Haruhiro and the others finished off a number of cultists, too. Especially Ranta and Kikkawa, who got carried away and ran wild.

Where had the difficult battle they had been fighting all this time gone to? Haruhiro couldn’t help but think it wasn’t that the enemy were scary, it was the flow of events. With one change in the winds, everything could change dramatically like it just did. That being the case, it was entirely possible they would suddenly be knocked from this position of overwhelming advantage into a disadvantage they couldn’t hope to recover from.

Is this... really okay? Haruhiro couldn’t go with the flow, and he didn’t know what to do with himself because of it. That’s, well, yeah... It’s fine, I guess? I should probably try to go with the flow when things aren’t going so badly.

“I see you’re still all right, Haruhiro-kun,” a voice said.

Haruhiro was shocked to find Akira-san right next to him. Akira-san returned his sword to its sheathe, crossing his arms with a cool look on his face.

“Oh, er, yeah, w-we’re fine, all of us,” Haruhiro stammered. “Well, my party is, at least...”

“We’ve been trying out different things with Soma and his group to see if anything can be done about the giant god.”

“Oh, yeah?” Haruhiro asked. “—And?”

Akira-san shook his head. “Ever since it took up that spot in the middle of the initial hill, it’s hardly moved. That thing is tough.”

“Even for you guys?”

“We’re still volunteer soldiers, just the same as all of you. I’ve merely survived at it much longer than you have. When you’ve lived twice as long, you’re bound to be a little better at things.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Of course it is.” Akira-san smiled and nodded.

This guy had been giving off an aura that put pressure on the whole area just moments ago, but now he looked like just a nice, regular old man. Of course, that wasn’t the case at all.

“I’m just an old man,” Akira-san said. “Because of my old age, I find myself wanting to meddle. —Kuzaku-kun, look at this for a moment.”

Akira-san called out to Kuzaku, then readied his shield and drew his sword. He moved forward, covering half of his body with the shield, and swinging the sword down diagonally at a nearby Pansuke. Even Haruhiro could tell what he was doing. It was the Paladin skill Punishment. But Akira-san deliberately chose to stop his sword halfway and pull it back. The Pansuke was cowering, as if frozen.

“Did you see that? With enough repetition, you’ll be able to do this, too,” Akira-san said.

“Right...” Kuzaku stood bolt-upright and watched closely.

I couldn’t have put it better myself, thought Haruhiro.

Akira-san used Punishment on the Pansuke once again, only this time he let it hit. At least, it was probably Punishment, but it was completely different.

I dunno, it was like it was all one movement.

Defending with his shield, advancing, and swinging down with his sword. The three actions had completely melded together to become one.

Akira-san’s sword cleanly cut through the Pansuke from his left shoulder to his right hip. It looked like when you got to the same level as Branken, Kayo, or Akira-san, the supposedly uncuttable ponchos didn’t even matter. Was this really something they could achieve through repetition? It was hard to accept at face value, but Akira-san didn’t seem like the type to make things up to trick those who were younger and less experienced.

“It’s all about what you build up over time.” Akira-san returned his sword to its sheathe once more. “It’s experience. Feel things for yourself, and build on that. If all you’ve done is learn it, a skill is just a skill and nothing more. True power lies somewhere beyond that. Now, when it comes to how you get a sense for that, really, repetition in the field is the only way.”

“Hmm,” Gogh snorted. “Well, aren’t you sounding self-important.”

The beautiful mage Miho was standing there, too. While the situation was in their favor, it was still a chaotic battle, so why were these people taking it easy as if they were out for a stroll in their own garden?

“Giving lectures doesn’t suit you, Akira-san,” Gogh said. “You’re not even the type to follow theory. The fact that you want to tell the younger folks these things anyway may be proof that you’ve gotten old.”

“Well, yeah,” Akira-san shrugged. “I’m aware of that myself.”

“He’s still young,” Miho said with a giggle.

“Bwuh!” Ranta may have just imagined something strange. “M-Magic!” Shihoru leaned in, clutching her staff tightly. “Wh-What about... magic? Is there a trick to it?”

“I want to know.” Mimorin nodded.

“Hey, wait.” Anna-san looked around restlessly. “Is it okay to jabber?! There still lots and lots of enemies around, yeah?!”

“Well, time to do a little work, then,” Gogh said with a look to Shihoru and Mimorin. “I’ll answer your question while I’m at it, too. You’re only at the start line for magic once you’ve properly learned all the elemental sigils that you can pay for the guild to teach you. From there, it’s up to you. —Miho.”

“Right.”

“We’re doing it.”

Gogh and Miho walked away. Akira-san followed after them without a sound. If any enemies attacked the two of them, Akira-san would cut them down immediately.

The three soon came to a stop. They were looking towards the eight-meter class white giant.

Gogh and Miho began tracing what looked like elemental sigils with the tips of their staves.

“De, he, lu, en, ba, zea, ruv, dag, na, mitoh, la, we, swa, va.”

“Ne, ve, lu, shia, rass, fe, de, ge, hi, mina, sheh, kweh, du, il.”

“I’ve never seen that before,” Shihoru whispered.

It was true. Haruhiro hadn’t seen elemental sigils like these before, and it was an unfamiliar chant. It felt like, maybe, the intonation was different from the incantations Shihoru or Mimorin used, too?

The eight-meter class, seeming to have noticed Gogh and Miho, looked down at them. Right after it did, there was a resounding thuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun, a sound that seemed both high- and low-pitch, and its head was blasted off.

“...One shot.” Merry’s jaw dropped.

“Meow...” Yume blinked repeatedly.

“And, well, there’re countless points I could cover, but...” Gogh spun around to face them, brushing his hair back behind his ear with an artistic flair. “Even after changing jobs to become a priest, I was able to manage this much with enough study. Though, I couldn’t have done what we just did on my own. We set loose an elemental, then activated an alternate power. They won’t teach you this stuff at the guild. You have to study it for yourself, make discoveries, and refine your skills. ...Whew, I’m beat.”

Gogh suddenly hung his head and pressed a hand to his forehead. He looked like he might slump to the ground at any second.

“Oh, my.” Miho narrowed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hands.

“We’re both getting old.” Akira-san offered Gogh some support. “Though, in your case, your body was weak to begin with.”

“...Oh, shut up,” Gogh grumbled. Leave me alone.””

“Honeeeeeeeey...!” Kayo rushed over, leaving a fine mist of blood in her wake. “What’s wrong?! Are you okay?! Honey?! I’ll never forgive you if you die before me!”

“Dad?! Did something happen to you, Dad?! Don’t die!” Taro also rushed over, his face contorted with anguish.

“Listen! I’m not gonna die that easily!” Gogh shouted at them, but the sound of it was mostly covered by the thunderous crash from the eight-meter class white giant falling hard to the ground.

To think the eight-meter class white giant that had been such a problem would be killed so easily.

The volunteer soldiers let out a cheer.

“Gwah, hah, hah, hah, hah!” With a terrifying laugh, Branken pointed his ax towards the other problem. “Now, it’s your turn! Get ready to die!”

Haruhiro tried to swallow his spit, but his mouth was dry, so his Adam’s apple just moved meaninglessly.

The hydra must have sensed something, too, because it stayed put where it was, its tentacles writhing. No, not just writhing. Its tentacles spread out wide, like it was trying to make its already huge body look even bigger.

“Well now.” Akira-san walked away from Gogh and drew his sword. “First, let’s see what it’s capable of.”

Iron Knuckle. The Berserkers. Orion. They were all among the foremost volunteer soldiers, and yet they didn’t move, or couldn’t move. Akira-san, Kayo, and Branken were the only ones approaching the hydra.

The five tentacles all lashed out at them at once. Three at Akira-san, and one each at Kayo and Branken.

They’re fast. Even at that size, they’re that fast?

To Haruhiro’s eyes, it looked like they were moving at a speed similar to a person swinging a sword. There’s no dodging that, he thought for a moment.

But Akira-san took just two quick steps, Kayo pressed forward, and Branken rolled to the side, each of them avoiding the tentacles in their own way.

Akira-san went to the right of the hydra, while Branken went to the left. Kayo was approaching it straight-on and closing in.

The hydra swung its tentacles. It seemed to have two type of attacks it could do with them. Swings and downward stabs.

The stabs seemed dodgeable, but the swings would be tougher. They were over two meters in diameter. If something like that, which was way too thick, and way too long, came at them at those intense speeds, wasn’t there kind of nowhere to run? Why were Akira-san and the others able to avoid them? Haruhiro couldn’t even imagine.

Maybe they can predict them, he thought. They must know where the tentacles can’t reach them. Probably. But how did they figure it out? That’s a mystery. Way too much of a mystery. Without spending a long time observing it closely and studying it, isn’t that impossible?

“Not unless you’re the kind of genius this world has rarely seen,” Gogh said, seeming to have seen through Haruhiro’s current thought process. “In the end, experience does all the talking. When we’re up against an enemy we’ve never seen before, of course we won’t know those things either. However, there will always be some similarities, points of commonality, with enemies we’ve faced before. What’s similar? What’s the same? You can’t deal with them if you’re agonizing over those things. What do I do here? What gives me the best odds? Your body needs to move on its own before you start arguing with yourself about what to do.”

“Th-That thing...” Ranta groaned. “They’ve fought lots of things like it? That’s why they’re able to fight it like it’s no big deal?”

“I get the impression that it’s pretty tough.” Gogh shrugged his shoulders. “They’ll have a hard time with it. Without access to light magic, they’ll be less willing to press their luck.”

“You say that like this doesn’t concern you.” Miho furrowed her brow, but Haruhiro couldn’t help but think she seemed completely at ease with the situation, too.

“There’s nowhere to target.” Taro lowered his bow, a frown distorting his beautiful face. “I hate big enemies. I wish I could help Mom...”

Taro looked younger than Haruhiro and his party, but he must also have had considerable experience. Given he was traveling with Akira-san and his party, that was only natural.

“Mind if I ask a question?” Kuzaku asked hesitantly.

Gogh glanced over to Kuzaku, indicating with his expression that he should go on.

“You said ‘unless they were geniuses,’ but...” Kuzaku asked just what Haruhiro had wanted to. “It’s a little much to try and claim Akira-san and the others aren’t geniuses, isn’t it?”

Though this was true for Branken and Kayo, too, it was incredibly hard to believe the things Akira-san was pulling off. He had been focused on evading the attacking tentacles at first, but now he was doing more than just that. After dodging, he would slash at it with his sword. On top of that, wasn’t he slowly closing in on the hydra? He probably was. No, not just probably, he was definitely getting up closer to it.

“Akira’s no genius,” Gogh said definitively, then let out a malicious chuckle.

He’s gotta be lying, Haruhiro thought incredulously. Is their relationship coloring his perspective?

“You’re right,” Miho said instantly.

Haruhiro started to think that maybe that wasn’t the case.

She said, “When we first met, that guy was a hopeless coward.”

“The guy’s still pretty timid, you know?” Gogh agreed.

“You could be right.”

“Even in our generation, there were plenty of guys stronger than him.”

“I’d say Kayo was far braver.”

“Not that that’s changed.”

“My mom’s the bravest in the world, and my dad’s wisest,” Taro declared with a look in his eyes so serious that it was scary. “And me, I’m the most fortunate.”

“You sure do love them, huh,” Yume said earnestly.

“Of course I do!” Taro shouted, his eyes wide. “My love for Mom and Dad won’t lose to anything! Never! Ever!”

“I’m not sure it’s a matter of winning or losing, though.” Gogh patted Taro on the head with a wry laugh. “That aside, the one thing I can tell you for sure is that Akira’s no genius. But he survived. That’s thanks to me, Kayo, Branken, Taro, and the many friends and comrades we’ve lost along the way. Many talented warriors and paladins who were blessed with talent fell, while he remained. He didn’t survive because he was strong. What was it that worked in his favor? If you were to sum it up in a word, it’d be luck, I guess. Because he was lucky, he survived, and he was able to become strong.”

It wasn’t just one or two instances—it was more than two decades’ worth of good luck accumulated. That was what had created Akira-san.

Just how lucky was he? Even just one instance of bad luck might have been enough to get him killed like Manato or Moguzo.

Turning that around, if Manato or Moguzo had not died when they had, they would have had the chance to become like Akira-san. In fact, Manato and Moguzo had both had more aptitude than Haruhiro did. Which meant there was no guarantee of success. If a volunteer soldier’s luck was bad, even a little bad, they would drop out. They’d die.

Either way, Akira-san was one of a chosen few.

“...I’m not like that,” Haruhiro murmured.

Akira-san, Branken, and Kayo were almost touching the hydra. The five tentacles couldn’t seem to catch them at all.

Then, suddenly, the four tentacles it used for moving attacked Akira-san and the others. While Haruhiro was caught by surprise, Akira-san and the others seemed to have anticipated it. Dodging and weaving between the tentacles, Branken and Kayo fell back, but... Akira-san stabbed his sword into the root of the tentacles.

With that as a handhold, he climbed. It was that same climbing style, like he was walking up a hill. He ran along the top of the tentacle.

“Ohh.” Gogh snapped his fingers. “There was one strength Akira did always have. His sense of balance. That’s the one thing he was above average in.”

“He liked high places, too,” Miho giggled.

“He must be an idiot.” The corners of Gogh’s lips turned upwards. “It’s almost time, huh.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Almost time for what?

The tentacle tried to shake Akira-san off. Akira-san jumped. He kicked off another tentacle, then yet another tentacle. Akira-san vanished behind the tentacles.

“I-I-I-I-Is he gonna be okay?!” Kikkawa shouted.

The hydra’s entire body shuddered.

“Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” It let out a tremendous cry.

If a woman who was over ten meters tall let out a scream, it just might have been that loud. That sound was released from the lower portion of the hydra along with a blast of air, stirring up the tentacles and making them flap around.

Akira-san rolled out from a gap between the tentacles.

Gogh and Miho drew elemental sigils with their staves and chanted their spells.

“Ea, zu, fa, nwe, meu, hoa, rahi, kweh, ba, ju, sai, le, cthu.”

“Ni, fau, shin, dza, wao, iki, le, vu, duma, gis, qua, zu.”

“It’s hot?!” Haruhiro covered his face without meaning to and bent his knees. The blast of hot wind blew into him. Or it might have been more accurate to say that it swept violently over him.

The hydra was at the center of it. The hydra was burning—no, that wasn’t it. There were no flames rising from it. But it was hot. There was an incredible vortex of hot air tormenting the hydra’s tentacles. That vortex seemed to be heading towards the core of the hydra. Haruhiro and the others were only being caught in the trail of it. Even so, it was hot and frightening.

What was going on? What was going to happen here? The trail suddenly changed direction. It wasn’t blowing into them anymore. It was sucking.

They were being pulled in.

“Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!” Ranta yelled.

“Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?!” Kikkawa screamed.

Ranta, Kikkawa, shut up.

I know how you feel, though.

“Eeeeeeeeeeek?!” Shihoru shrieked.

“Funyooooooooooooooo?!” cried Yume.

“Yahhhhhhh?!” shouted Merry.

Shihoru, Yume, and Merry were hugging one another.

“The hell?!” Kuzaku got down on the ground.

“What the heeeeeeeeeell?!” Anna-san screamed.

Mimorin held onto the panicking Anna-san, and for some reason, she had a firm grip on Haruhiro, too.

“No, I’ll be fine, okay?” he told her.

“Just in case!”

I really will be fine, and actually, it’s harder on me when you hold me tight like that. Come to think of it, are Tokimune and Tada all right? Also, where’s Inui?

“Oh!”

The wind changed direction again. This time, it neither pushed nor pulled them. It was blowing downwards from above. The mass of hot air was pressing down and crushing them.

Haruhiro and his party were only being hit with enough pressure to force them down on all fours, but the hydra in the center of the storm had it far worse.

Seriously?

The hydra was being crushed.

The nine tentacles were pressed flat to the ground, revealing the center part—its main body, maybe? Or the torso? Whatever it was, that part which looked like a massive white succulent plant had been exposed, and the top of it was creaking and caving in farther with every second.

What is this magic? Arve Magic? It can’t be Kanon Magic, right? It doesn’t seem like it would be Falz Magic or Darsh Magic, either. Well, what was it then? I remember Gogh said something about releasing elementals, then activating an alternate power. Is that the true nature of this super-hot, crushing whirlwind spell?

Eventually the hot wind subsided.

The massive white succulent plant thingy looked like it had shrunk to half its original size. It wasn’t possible to confirm it from here, but the middle of it was probably caved in pretty heavily.

The hydra didn’t move at all.

“Is it... dead?” Ranta fell on his backside, his mind only half there.

“I’m exhausted...” Gogh staggered.

“Dad! Here!” Taro moved his bow and quiver of arrows under his arm, then crouched down in front of Gogh and offered him his back.

“Now, listen... I’m your father, got it?” Even while uttering what sounded like a complaint, Gogh rested on Taro’s back. He might have been having a pretty hard time.

“Hee hee.” The smiling Miho seemed to be having no such trouble. Was she tough, on top of being an incredible beauty? Or was Gogh just too weak?

“Is it... over...?” Shihoru clung to Yume, trembling.

“Maybe?” Yume rubbed Shihoru’s back reassuringly.

“I hope so.” Merry joined Yume in petting Shihoru.

“Whew...” Kuzaku looked up timidly.

“Is it safe now?” Mimorin asked.

Anna-san, who was playing with Mimorin’s all-too-ample chest for some reason, tilted her head to the side questioningly.

Is it okay when girls do that to each other? Haruhiro wondered. Not that he was jealous or anything. “Wh-Who knows...”

But was it, really?

Haruhiro couldn’t say for sure, but he might have appreciated it if Mimorin would let him go, you know? Feeling Mimorin’s breasts pressed up against him, he was just about to tell her as much when, not far away, Tada started shouting.

“No, this isn’t funny! I refuse to let it end this easily! I haven’t even done anything yet! Don’t just stay dead, come back to life already!”

Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” Mimorin let out an uncharacteristic shriek and squeezed Haruhiro and Anna-san tightly. Or rather, she was strangling him. He couldn’t breathe.

Save me, Haruhiro silently begged. But, well, he couldn’t blame her for being surprised. He had been surprised himself.

The hydra he had assumed was dead suddenly let out another burst of sound from the bottom of that large, white part that was like a succulent plant. What was more, the sound was louder and more violent than the first time. Then the tentacles began swinging around wildly.

Akira-san, Branken, and Kayo were falling back. Well, no surprise there. It looked pretty dangerous, you know? The other volunteer soldiers were panicking now, just like Haruhiro and his group.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!” Tada seemed thrilled, though. “Good! That’s the way I wanted it! Amuse me more!”

“Nice! This is where the second round starts, huh!” Tokimune seemed to be enjoying himself.

Are they stupid...?

“Kwa, do, roh, wo, su, eck, lue, rah, va, le.” Meanwhile, Miho cast a spell.

If he were to describe it with a color, it was purple. This purple thing that was neither a flame nor bolt of lightning exploded into the gigantic, white succulent plant-like portion of the hydra with a tearing sound. It was cut and torn, splattering some sort of mucus-like substance around, and the hydra started convulsing, but you could say that was all it did. Still, Miho remained confident. Not only did she not back away, she moved forward.

“Ah, lua, de, muo, su, vi, gwa, pa, le, tu, kia.”

This time it was a blackish green. The dark-green light flashed repeatedly and struck the massive, white, succulent plant-like part. It pierced through it. It scratched it up. The tentacles writhed. The hydra writhed, mucus splattering everywhere, and then...

“Ta, tu, rua, fa, yek, nie, she, la, stoa, ryu, kweh, wana.”

Huh? More still? You’re going for more?

A pink dot formed above the massive, white, succulent plant-like portion of the hydra. Then it fell.

Shishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishi...

Wait, what kind of sound was that? What was it? That wasn’t clear, but it was apparently coming from where the pink-colored dot made contact with the massive, white, succulent plant-like bit. What was that pink-colored dot anyway? It was getting bigger.

The dot wasn’t a dot anymore. It was a ball now. Getting bigger and bigger.

The tentacles flailed wildly. Their tips were slapping the ground. Like it was saying, Hold on, hold on, seriously, hold on, and trying to call for a time-out.

Naturally, the volunteer soldiers weren’t going to hold on. Giving it a break was unthinkable.

The pink-colored sphere was erasing the massive, white, succulent plant-like bit. Like it was melting it away. The pink-colored sphere finally sunk inside the massive white succulent plant-like bit.

The nine tentacles went limp. The massive, white, succulent plant-like bit looked like it had gone limp, too.

Miho stopped and let out a sigh. Then she giggled. “It was stubborn and cheeky, so I punished it a little.”

Haruhiro was shocked and clung to Mimorin without meaning to. Is she a total sadist?

“Come oooooon!” Tada shouted in Miho’s face. “Just when it was finally about to get good, you had to ruin it!”

“Oh, dear. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry’s not gonna cut it! Now, you listen here—Murgh?!”

...Whoa. Haruhiro knew he couldn’t afford to be shocked by every little thing, but this was really astonishing.

The hydra’s tentacles were suddenly filled with strength. The nine tentacles pushed off the ground, and the hydra sprang into the air.

It jumped.

Huh, it can jump?!

“Oh, crap! Get back!” Akira-san shouted.

This was the first time he’d heard an urgency in Akira-san’s voice. Akira-san, Branken, Kayo, Miho, and Taro, who was carrying Gogh—none of them hesitated when it came time to run. It was almost dumbfounding how incredibly they ran away.

The hydra leapt. It flew into the air, swinging its tentacles around.

Tokimune and Tada backed away, too.

“Mimorin, let go!” Haruhiro broke free from Mimorin’s confining grasp. “W-W-W-W-We need to hurry and get out of here!”

“We do, yeah!” Anna-san shouted.

“Yep!” Mimorin plodded off carrying just Anna-san.

The rest of their comrades fled, too. It was like a competition to see who could run first. They needed to get away from the hydra.

Oh, man. No. Just no. Haruhiro kept moving his legs as he vented all of the feelings he couldn’t convert into words inside his head. Ranta, Merry, Kuzaku, Yume, Shihoru. They’re all okay. Kikkawa, Tokimune, and Tada, too. Inui’s still missing, but who gives a damn about him? What about Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, and Orion? It looks like they’ve scattered, maybe?

Haruhiro, for his part, was still following after Akira-san and the others. Was this okay? Was it not? He had no clue. He couldn’t decide.

Suddenly, the hydra stopped jumping around.

It’s coming.

It slammed all nine of its tentacles into the ground hard, charging forth in a wild rampage.

“Wawawawawawawawaaaaa?!” Haruhiro flipped out and babbled incomprehensibly in panic.

Is this bad? It’s bad, right? Huh? Did I screw up? Did I do the wrong thing? I mean, it looks like the hydra’s coming this way. Is it targeting Akira-san and his group? If it is, should we separate from them? Maybe?

“De, he, lu, en, ba, zea, ruv, ah, tu, la!” Gogh turned back while still being carried by Taro and began chanting as he drew what seemed like elemental sigils with his staff.

Kaboooooooooom!

There was an explosion directly underneath the hydra, blasting a vast amount of grass and dirt into the air.

The hydra lost its balance. That was because its footing had been wrecked with magic. They needed to gain as much distance on it as they could now. But what good would that distance do them? What was going to happen? Wouldn’t it eventually catch up? What would they do if it did?

For now, all we can do is run as fast as we can, thought Haruhiro. If the hydra’s actually targeting Akira-san and his group, that’s not good. I dunno how to say it, but you know, there are better ways for us to handle this. Like, if I’m looking out for our safety, you could say there’s only one option.

If Haruhiro was to be perfectly blunt, he thought it was best not to follow Akira-san’s party. The way things were now, they were standing on the straight line between the hydra and Akira-san’s party, and they didn’t want to be there. It might be best for them to change course and act independently.

I’d feel guilty about doing it, though. Besides, it’s not absolutely certain Akira-san and the others are its target. What if they aren’t? If it turns and follows us when we break off from Akira-san and the others, it’d be a total disaster. Akira-san and his party wouldn’t be able to help, and, well, that’d be the end of us.

That said, I’m pretty sure the hydra has got to be going after Akira-san and his party.

Do we take that gamble?

It doesn’t feel like a bad bet, but I can’t quite commit to it. I should decide sooner rather than later, though. I’m so indecisive. I hate it.

In the end, won’t Akira-san and his party handle things somehow? Is that what I’m thinking? I can’t say that’s not at least part of it. That’s just leaving my problems to someone else, isn’t it? I think there’s something wrong with that. Is that okay? I can’t say that it is, can I?

Even in his indecision, he was continuing to diligently pump his legs when he ran past something going the other direction.

“Huh?” Haruhiro realized. The other... direction?

Yes. There was no doubt about it. Something had raced towards him, then ran right past Haruhiro.

Haruhiro turned back and looked.

That something was clad in black armor.

It was tight-fitting, looked light, and it was black where it was black, but what was with that orange-colored light that came out of it here and there? How did that work? There was a short, curved sword, or rather a katana, on one of the figure’s hips, and a rather long katana over their back. The person reached back and put one hand on the hilt of his katana as he kept running. Dashing straight towards the hydra.

“Soma...” Haruhiro accidentally said his name without an honorific.

He stood there in a daze.

Soma.

It was Soma.

The hydra was rushing towards them, and Soma was running in the opposite direction from them, so the two were guaranteed to collide.

Was he... going to be okay?

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried, but for some reason, Haruhiro couldn’t imagine Soma possibly getting killed.

The hydra lifted up its massive body with its tentacles, then sprung at Soma.

Soma didn’t stop, didn’t even slow his pace.

He drew his katana.

Haruhiro was able to see everything up until that point. But what did he do after that?

Haruhiro’s eyes had been wide open and he watched closely, but still, he couldn’t tell.

He only knew that two of the hydra’s tentacles were lopped off and soared through the air.

The hydra landed with an earth-rattling thud—but what about Soma?

Haruhiro was finally gripped by uncertainty. Had Soma been crushed?

The hydra’s tentacles twisted and coiled as the creature tried to make an about-face. Did that mean that was where Soma was? Had he slipped under the hydra? Or something like that?

While Haruhiro was still in suspense, unable to be sure what had happened, the hydra jumped to the left.

There.

That’s Soma.

He was swinging a katana. It’s long, that katana. Why does it look so much longer than when he had it slung over his back?

Whatever the case, Soma’s slashes were making the hydra hesitate. He was taking on that massive creature in one-on-one close-quarters combat, and he was the one pushing it back.

It’s weird. That’s just not right. What’s going on?

“Now, see, when you use the word ‘genius.’” The next thing he noticed, Gogh was next to him, still being carried on Taro’s back. “That’s the kind of guy you’re talking about. He’s only been active for one-fifth of the time we have. Yet, still, he can do that. Talent is a cruel and terrifying thing.”

Incredible, thought Haruhiro. The rumors about him weren’t all talk. Soma had saved their lives before, too. He wasn’t called the strongest for nothing.

Haruhiro knew that. Or he had thought he had. But he must not have truly understood what that meant.

That katana might have been special somehow. His armor seemed to hide some secret power that transcended human knowledge. Even so, Soma himself was a flesh and blood human. He had to be.

Was he really human, the same as all of them? It was hard to believe.

Soma was driving the hydra back with a single katana. How was he cutting through those tentacles that were over two meters thick? Haruhiro had no idea. It was clearly impossible. But Soma was doing it.

Haruhiro probably wasn’t hallucinating, so this was reality. It was a reality that transcended Haruhiro’s understanding and imagination. Or rather, there was no way he could have imagined something like that.

Like, if he were to say, Someday, I’m gonna swing around a katana and take down a monster the size of a two-story building, people would be guaranteed to laugh at him. Haruhiro would do the same, of course. If anyone around him said something like that, he would think, What an idiot.

Were people like Soma, who made those ridiculous-sounding dreams a reality, the true geniuses?

Gogh was right—it was cruel. There was no closing this gap, and no jumping over it. It was like the difference between the moon and a turtle. Sure, both were round, but even trying to compare the two was pointless. They were just too different.

Even the things that came to mind when he thought about it were so ordinary that he just wanted to disappear. Haruhiro had always known he was ordinary, so he wasn’t frustrated by it at all, but it still made him feel empty. If he had thought he had the potential to be someone, and he’d been aiming for the top, the shock might well have left him unable to recover.

He was glad that he and everyone else recognized his mediocrity. Thanks to that, he only had to suffer from this feeling of powerlessness.

“Soma!” shouted a creature of inhuman beauty and elegance as she raced past Haruhiro.

It was only natural she seemed inhuman. She wasn’t human at all.

She’s an elf. Well, Taro’s an unusually pretty boy, too. Maybe the elven race only has beautiful people? Either way, her beauty stands out. That fair skin of hers ought to be against the rules. She’s got silver hair, too. The way her eyes sparkle, they look exactly like gemstones. When it comes to her figure, I guess you could say, or her physique and musculature, they aren’t even human. Like, her head is soooooo tiny. The way she runs is different, too. Her steps are much lighter than a human’s. It’s less like she’s kicking off the ground, and more like she’s sliding along it.

“You’re running off on your own again!” Lilia drew a thin sword which suited her well, and charged straight towards the hydra.

She was a sword dancer. It was truly like she was dancing. Lilia spun circles around the tentacles, making her sword dance. Rather than cutting them with her sword, it was like she was cutting them with the motion of her sword and body. Even if she couldn’t cut them off like Soma had, Lilia was definitely injuring the tentacles she attacked. Naturally, they couldn’t touch her. She never let anything get near her.

While Haruhiro was holding his breath and watching the elf’s magnificent and sublime sword techniques intently, he heard someone let out a sigh that sounded like a yawn. When he looked over, the big man with the dreadlocks passed by Haruhiro with relaxed, but incredibly large steps.

Kemuri was a paladin just like Akira-san, Tokimune, or Kuzaku. Naturally, that meant he had a shield on his back, but the very long sword he was wearing diagonally over his back caught Haruhiro’s attention first.

Slowly drawing that sword with both hands, Kemuri approached the hydra.

No matter how good he is, isn’t that being a little too careless?

One of the tentacles took aim at Kemuri. From up above and to the side, it swung down diagonally at him.

“Heave—” Kemuri didn’t dodge. He met the tentacle with his sword. “—ho!”

When it collided with the sword, the tentacle was torn in two. How did that even work? He’d just won a contest of brute strength against a tentacle that was over two meters thick.

“If he does stuff like that, I’m amazed his back doesn’t hurt.” Akira-san was stroking his chin, having switched into spectator mode.

Is that the problem here?

“You have back pains, after all.” Miho rubbed Akira-san’s back.

“Hmph! I could do that, too...” Branken had shouldered his ax and looked like he was taking a break, too.

“I’ll pass, thanks.” Kayo walked over to Gogh, snatching up her hubby and carrying him in her arms like he was a princess. “That was some good work you did. You must be tired from using all that magic, aren’t you, honey?”

“...Not that tired, so stop carrying me like this.”

“At your age, what do you have to be embarrassed about?” Kayo asked.

“It’s precisely my age that makes this so embarrassing. Let me down!”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Dammit!”

While watching that husband and wife who were so close it made everyone who saw it embarrassed for them, their elven son wore a truly contented smile.

“Oh, my. It’s Shima-chan,” said Miho. Looking over in the same direction as she was, Haruhiro saw the sexy older girl walking gracefully in their direction.

“Hey,” Shima said with a bow of her head. “What’s the situation here?”

“It’s tougher than we thought.” Akira-san tilted his head to the side a little. “It looks like we won’t be able to just hit its weak spot and finish it quickly like that. We’ll need to wear it down. Where’s Pingo-kun?”

“He’s sticking close to the giant god. Zenmai, too. He’s been with Pingo since he came back when he couldn’t lead the hydra around anymore.”

“Do you think Lala and Nono fled?” Akira-san asked.

“I wonder,” Shima said. “There’s no predicting those two.”

“I guess we’ll have to sort out the hydra first.”

“If anything happens, I’ll heal you,” Shima said. “Not that I think it will.”

“No, I’ll be counting on you. I mean, I’m getting on in years, after all. I could always slip up.”

“Surely you jest.”

“I’m serious. —Branken, Kayo, time to get back to work.”

“Very well.” Branken stroked his beard, a fire burning in his eyes.

“Honey, wait for me, okay?” Kayo set Gogh down, then spun her arms in circles to warm up.

“I’ll help, too!” Taro readied his bow.

Oh. They’re actually doing it. Well, yeah, I guess they would, huh? I mean, it’s looking like Soma, Lilia, and Kemuri could take it out by themselves, thought Haruhiro. There was nothing for him and the others to do, so they were probably good to stay here in spectator mode and watch the fight to the end. Or rather, they couldn’t do anything more than that.

Tada spoke up. “We’re gonna steal their thunder, Tokimune.”

“Let’s do it, Tada!”

Tada and Tokimune were raring to go, and Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, and Orion all looked like they saw this as the time to turn things around, but Haruhiro had no intent of getting dragged into it.

Despite that, Ranta said, “O-O-O-O-Okay, me too!” with a quiver in his voice. He was hopeless.

“Yeah, you go right ahead,” said Haruhiro.

“—Wait, you’re not stopping me?! Damn you and your sleepy eyes!”

“My eyes have nothing to do with this...”

“They so do, you dolt!” screamed Ranta. “It creeps me out, that look in your eyes!”

“Akira-san and the others are leaving without you, you know,” said Haruhiro.

“Whoa, you’re right! I missed my chance! Maaaan, I’m too late. What a shame, huh. Can’t go now. It’s all your fault, Parupiro.”

“My fault, huh...”

While thinking, Man, how about you just go charge at the hydra, Haruhiro looked around. There was no way he could fight the hydra, but there could still be cultists or white giants coming. If necessary, they could handle a number of those.

That’s right. I’ve got to keep it together. We ordinary people need to do ordinary people things. That’s fine, or rather, it’s all we can do. Even if we’re mediocre, we won’t let out skills rot, you know? I mean, if we let them rot, we’d be even worse than mediocre.

“...Wait? Is that—Huh...? Hold on... Yume?”

“Meow?” Yume asked.

“Hey, over there...” Haruhiro pointed off to the south. “I mean, it could be my imagination, but...”

“Huh? Whewie. There’s somethin’ there,” Yume agreed. “Not sure ’bout this, but maybe it’s a hydra?”

“Yeah, I thought so. That’s what I thought it lo—” Haruhiro panicked and looked again. “I-It does look like one, doesn’t it?! It looks like a h-h-hydra, right?! Yeah?!”

“Another one?!” Merry cringed.

“No way...” Shihoru was trembling.

“Huh? Isn’t that bad?” Maybe because of exhaustion, Kuzaku’s posture was even worse than usual.

“You joking...” While still tucked under Mimorin’s arm, Anna-san shaded her eyes with one hand and looked off into the distance. “—What the fuck?! No way!”

“Oh, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!” Ranta pointed the tip of his Thunder Sword Dolphin at Haruhiro. “This is all your fault, bud! I blame you!”

“What the heck?” Mimorin said in a monotone voice and whacked Ranta in the back of the head with her staff.

“Urgh...” Ranta squatted down in pain.

“Maaaan!” Kikkawa tried to joke around for some reason. “It’s like, doesn’t that just beat all? Even I’ve got to cry uncle after seeing this! Wait, have I even got an uncle?!”

“Hm...” Gogh seemed to be thinking about it.

“Well, that’s a quandary.” Miho’s tone didn’t sound quite serious enough given the gravity of the situation.

Is it because she’s too beautiful? wondered Haruhiro, Or does that have nothing to do with it?

“There were others, huh.” The way Shima said that with a furrowed brow seemed, in a word, seductive.

Hold on, why are these people acting so undaunted? Is it experience? This kind of crisis is nothing to them? Maybe they think they’ll just be able to get out of it in the end anyway?

“A-A-Akira-san!” Haruhiro raced over.

Akira-san was about to throw himself at the hydra. Even so, he noticed Haruhiro and turned to face him.

“What is it, Haruhiro-kun?”

“Th-Th-This is bad! There’s a hydra!” Haruhiro looked once more to the south, then cast his eyes to the east and west.

He almost fell speechless.

No, I can’t afford to get tongue-tied. Not now.

It wasn’t just the south. It was a good thing he’d looked to the east and west, too. Was it good? He couldn’t say. But the facts were the facts.

“Th-Th-Th-Th-There are more coming! I see one, two—three or four?! Around that many!”

“What did you say?” Even Akira-san was surprised by this news, but apparently not to the point where he was shocked by it. He took a quick look around the area, then lifted his sword up high. “Miho, Gogh, keep me apprised of the situation. To any volunteer soldiers sure of your skills! Follow me and Soma! Don’t fall behind! Victory will belong to those who pluck it for themselves!”

With the legendary man firing them up, the volunteer soldiers roared as one.

Huh? Haruhiro thought, stunned. Is that okay...?

This time, Haruhiro really did fall speechless, and he stood there in dumb shock.

No, well... If that’s what Akira-san says... it’s the right answer—I guess. Probably.

The original hydra had been pushed to the brink by Soma and the others, leaving it with only three tentacles left completely intact. It was using those tentacles to jump and run around. Once the remaining tentacles were chopped up, it wouldn’t even be able to do that.

That hydra would be taken down soon. Even if the new hydras came, it wouldn’t change that. They could just take them down one at a time. Akira-san must be confident about that. If he had Soma and the others, they could kill them. He must have made his decision having accounted for that.

Haruhiro used the back of his hand to wipe the area around his mouth and looked around.

Hydras.

There was one to the south, one to the east, and one to the southwest. That was three that he could see. But he couldn’t say for certain that there wouldn’t be more coming after them. Besides, as he had expected, there were more than just the hydras. He saw white giants, too. And cultists. Some portion of those would come swarming to attack the volunteer soldiers, no doubt.

Are they planning on using them? The thought suddenly occurred to Haruhiro.

Between Soma, Akira-san, and their parties, they could defeat the hydras. They didn’t need the other volunteer soldiers’ strength. Despite that, Akira-san had egged them on and convinced them to stay. If the lesser enemies got involved in their fight, it would complicate things. Were they planning to use them to deal with the small fry?

No, no, Akira-san wasn’t that kind of guy. That was the sense that Haruhiro got. Akira-san was a great man, and a good person. He wouldn’t use others as disposable pawns. He was so accepting and considerate of others, he was completely perfect—

Was he really?

He used to be a coward. That’s what Miho had said. Even though he didn’t look like it at all.

Akira-san seemed so kind. He was strong, reliable, and if anything happened, it felt like he would protect them, like a father—but would he really?

Akira-san wasn’t the genius type. There had been those more talented than him, but they had all died. Akira-san had survived to grow stronger. That was what Gogh had said.

How had Akira-san survived? Hadn’t he occasionally been forced to make harsh, even cold decisions? Hadn’t he grown stronger because he could do that, and so he’d survived?

Haruhiro turned back, and then, as casually as he could manage, he asked Gogh, “What do you think our losses will be?”

“Oh, you’re that type, huh.” Gogh raised one eyebrow. “That’s a little bit unexpected.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had taken you for the emotional type. I don’t know you that well, so that was just my impression. If you’re able to calmly calculate losses, you might actually be more suited to be a commander than I would have thought.”

“...You still haven’t answered my question, though.”

“It’s luck.” Gogh spun his index finger in a circle. “If our luck is bad, even we could die. That’s how it works. There’s no way to tell how many people will die. Of course, I have no plan of dying here. If you want to survive, too, then I suggest you stay by our side.”

“That’s no good,” said Haruhiro.

“Huh?”

“It’s no good.” Haruhiro sighed.

It feels like the blood is gonna rush to my head. Don’t get emotional. It’s not that I’m mad. It’s just, that’s not it, he thought.

“If you claim you survived because you were lucky, you can only say that in hindsight,” he said. “There are actually a lot of factors that go into it, aren’t there? Would you call being used as a disposable pawn by someone else part of luck? I don’t see it that way. I have cases where I think, ‘I only survived thanks to that guy,’ or, ‘I’d have died if things had happened this way.’ That’s not luck. It’s thanks to someone, or something.”

“So what?” Gogh was smiling slightly. “What is it you want to say?”

“I dunno that I can word it very well, but...”

“Just get to the point. I hate beating around the bush.”

“J-Just—I was thinking, wouldn’t it be possible to try to minimize the number of people who die? Yeah, I’m sure the strong ones might survive. It may mean that the ones who survive are strong. But even if they’re weak, or unlucky, aren’t people still alive?”

“Why should we have to go to the trouble of taking care of the weak and unlucky?” Gogh asked.

“I don’t think you have to take care of them...”

“Damn straight. We’re not philanthropists, and we aren’t running a charity here.”

“S-Still, if there’s something you can do, please, do it.”

“What for?” Gogh asked.

“I mean, if they die, it’s all over!”

Haruhiro bit his lip and shook his head. If he were smarter, might he have been able to come up with a convincing argument and persuaded Gogh? Or was Haruhiro’s thinking misguided to begin with?

“Once you die, there’s nothing left,” he explained. “For that person, at least, the door to every possibility is closed. So, is it that strange that I want as few people to die as possible? If there’s no other way, then so be it, but if you’ve got something you can do, I think you ought to do it. Isn’t throwing away people you don’t know as sacrificial pawns just taking the easy way out?”

“You’re saying we should deliberately take the harder path?” Gogh demanded.

“I think it would be better that way.”

“You’re so green.” Shima chuckled. “I don’t mind that, though.”

“But Haruhiro-kun.” Miho stared Haruhiro in the eye. “What can you do? You don’t want sacrifices. That’s fine, but what can you do about it?”

“No, that’s...”

It was a strangely intense stare. Haruhiro almost looked down despite himself, but he managed not to somehow. With upturned eyes, he just barely managed to withstand Miho’s gaze. That was the best he could do.

“No... there isn’t anything I can do. Not really. If there were, I’d be doing it. That’s why I’m asking Gogh-san, though.”

“Oh, my.” Miho’s eyes opened a little wider.

“You’re preposterous.” Gogh frowned and shrugged. “I don’t think that honesty of yours is a virtue. Not one bit. But it’s something that, at some point, we lost. It’s good to go back to our roots every once in a while.”

“Soma’s instincts may have been right, you know.” With those mysterious words, Shima leaned in close to Haruhiro. Something smelt incredibly good.

Wait, isn’t she a little too close?

“We’re searching for a way back to our original world.” Her voice was an almost breath-like whisper.

Haruhiro held his ears and backed away despite himself. “...Huh? Original? What do you mean, a way back...?”

“Forget that for now.” Shima brought her index finger to her pursed lips. “We’ll discuss that some other time. First, we’ve got to get out of here, right?”

“This was your idea,” Gogh said, pressing a finger against Haruhiro’s forehead. “Even if you can’t do anything, if you just scramble to run away, I won’t stand for it. You’re sticking with us until the end. You’ve got to give us at least that much.”

“Oka—”

He was about to immediately agree, but then he snapped to his senses. This wasn’t only Haruhiro’s problem. It affected his comrades, too. Haruhiro was the party’s leader.

When he turned around, Ranta laughed and gave him a bitter look. “If you hadn’t said it, I was gonna, baldy.”

“There’s noooo way that’s true.” Yume puffed up one of her cheeks.

“I’ve already decided I’ll follow you.” Kuzaku was like a big, loyal dog at this point.

“Me, too.” Merry smiled and nodded.

“...I think it’s fine.” Shihoru gave him an awkward smile, too.

“Umm, umm, what about all of us?!” Kikkawa glanced to Mimorin and Anna-san, then looked around restlessly. “Whaaaa?! Where’s Inuicchi?!”

“That half-wit’s been gone for loooong time now, yeah?!” Anna-san shouted.

“Seriously?! Like, I never even noticed,” said Kikkawa. “Well, whatever! He’s prolly alive! As for us, well, I guess that’s up to Tokimune, huh?”

“Sadly,” Mimorin nodded.

“Oh, good grief. What a pain.” Gogh looked Haruhiro and the others over quickly. His expression made it look like he was fed up, but there was a life in his eyes that hadn’t been there a little while ago. “For the time being, you’ll be escorting Miho, Shima, and myself. Stay close to us, and do as I tell you. I’ll teach you what it means to walk a thorny path. Starting now, we’re going to withdraw, keeping casualties to a minimum. We’ll slip past the giant god somehow and escape from the Dusk Realm.”